University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


REV.    SHERLOCK    BRISTOL. 


TJrlK 


PIONEER  PREACHER 


INCIDENTS  OF  INTEREST, 

AND 

EXPERIENCES  IN  THE  AUTHOR'S  LIFE. 


REVIVAL    LABORS    IN    THE    FRONTIER    SETTLEMENTS.       A    PERILOUS 

TRIP  ACROSS  THE    PLAINS    IN    TIME    OF  INDIAN    WARS,    AND 

BEFORE     THE     RAILROADS.       THREE     YEARS    IN    THE 

MINING    CAMPS    OF    CALIFORNIA    AND    IDAHO 

TWENTY -ONE     YEARS'    RESIDENCE     IN 

SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA,    ETC. 


BY 


REV.  S.  BRISTOL, 

SAN  BUENA  VENTURA,  GAL; 


ILLUSTRATED   BY 

ISABELLE    BLOOD. 


FLEMING   H.  REVELL, 
CHICAGO:  j  NEW  YORK: 

148-150  MADISON  STREET.       |       148-150  NASSAU  STREET. 


x 


BEESE 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

SHERLOCK  BRISTOL, 

1887. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  The  First  Fifteen  Years  of  my  Life,  9 

II.  The  Sabbath  School,  and  its  Influence,          -  -     21 

III.  Conversion  and  Early  Christian  Work,  25 

IV.  Two  Years  in  Phillips'  Academy,          -  -  40 
V.  Life  and  Experiences  in  Oberlin  College,  -        -  53 

VI.  An  Eventful  Journey,                                         -  -    66 

VII.  Returning  to  Oberlin, 80 

VIII.  A  Year  in  New  Haven  Theological  Seminary,  -    93 

IX.  Graduation  at  Oberlin  and  Labors  in  Central  Ohio,  99 

X.  Agency  for  Oberlin  College,      -                  -         -  120 

XI.     Pastoral    Labors    in    Fitchburg,    New  York    and 

Andover,  -  -         -  124 

'-XII.  Poor  Health  and  a  Trip  to  California,  -        -        137 

—  XIII.  A  Year  among  Miners  in  1850,       -  ...  166 

—  XIV.  From  California  to  New  York,  -        -        190 

XV.  Pioneer  Labors  in  Wisconsin,  ...  205 

XVI.     Across  the  Plains  to  Oregon,  Before  the  Railroads, 

and  During  an  Indian  War,  -         -         -       238 

-~  XVII.     Two  Years  in  Idaho, .273 

XVIII.  The  Journey  Back  to  Wisconsin,                           -        286 

XIX.  Renewed  Labors  in  Wisconsin,       ....  293 

XX.  Third  Journey  to  the  Pacific  Coast,     ...        304 

XXI.  Twenty-One  Years  in  Southern  California,      -        -  320 

210436 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1.  PORTRAIT. 

2.  ENCOUNTER  WITH  AN  ALLIGATOR. 

3.  FOLLOWED  BY  A  PUMA. 

4.  ROUGH  TREATMENT. 

5.  A  NIGHT  WITH  THREE  ROBBERS. 

6.  HUNTING  THE  WILD  BOAR. 


PREFACE. 


This  book  is  not  written  and  sent  forth  to  the 
public  because  of  anything  remarkable  in  the 
abilities  or  success  of  the  author.  He  puts  forth 
no  claim  to  have  walked  on  a  higher  plane,  or  to 
have  accomplished  a  more  important  work  than  is 
quite  within  the  reach  of  the  average  man.  And, 
because  he  occupies  this  position,  he  cherishes  the 
hope  that  the  successes  and  failures  narrated  in  the 
following  pages,  will  afford  encouragement  and 
warning  to  those  who,  like  him,  are  moving  for 
ward  in  the  common  walks  of  life.  No  claim  is  put 
forth  to  any  special  literary  merit  in  the  book,  but 
the  writer  hopes  to  have  made  himself  clearly  under 
stood,  and  that  his  style  and  language  express 
average  English  in  writing  and  speech.  Nor  does 
the  writer  claim  absolute  and  literal  correctness  in 
all  the  minute  narrations  he  has  given  of  conversa 
tions  and  speeches,  many  of  which  occurred  long 
ago.  The  statements  of  all  the  principal  facts  may 
be  relied  upon.  They  are  too  deeply  graven  on 
the  tablet  of  memory  to  be  doubted  or  forgotten. 
Minute  and  unimportant  variations  from  literal 
truth,  in  some  cases  it  is  freely  admitted,  are  pos 
sible,  and  even  probable.  Let  the  reader  make 
allowances  for  such. 

(v) 


Vi  PREFACE. 

Should  references  to  self — which  abound  in  this 
book — savor  of  egotism,  in  the  view  of  the  reader 
let  him  consider  how  difficult  it  is  to  write  an  auto 
biography,  whose  very  nature  it  is  to  write  about 
self  and  avoid  amenability  to  this  charge.  If  the 
question  be  asked,  does  this  give  the  whole — the 
totality  of  my  life,  the  answer  is,  Certainly  not. 
Much  is  left  out  which  lies  solely  between  the 
author  and  God;  much  that  is  properly  private 
— much  in  which  the  public  have  little  or  no  inter 
est.  But  the  following  classes  of  persons,  it  is 
hoped,  will  read  these  pages  with  interest,  and 
some  degree  of  profit. 

ist.  The  young  people — between  the  ages  of 
twelve  and  twenty — who,  at  times,  seriously  pon 
der  the  propriety  and  duty  of  an  early  consecra 
tion  of  themselves  to  God.  They  will  read,  per 
haps  with  interest,  the  story  of  the  writer's  con 
version,  just  after  he  had  finished  his  fifteenth 
year.  The  obstacles  which  blocked  the  entrance 
upon  the  narrow  way,  his  struggles  to  overcome 
them,  and  success  through  the  help  of  One  mighty 
to  save.  He  hopes  it  will  stir  some  of  them  to  like 
efforts  and  like  success.  Will  they  regret  it  when, 
like  the  writer,  they  stand  by  their  seventy-third 
milestone,  and  look  back  over  the  years  of  the 
right  hand  of  the  Most  High?  Will  they  regret  it 
when  10,000  years  have  passed  ? 

2d.  The  author's  struggles  for  an  education 
under  difficulties,  and  the  timely  helps,  which 
strangely  came  to  hand,  all  the  way  through  the 


PREFACE.  vii 

academy  and  college  and  theological  seminary, 
may  stimulate  hope  and  courage  and  effort  in  those, 
who  like  him,  sigh  after  a  liberal  education  to  fit 
them  for  the  ministry,  or  other  walks  of  eminent 
usefulness,  but  lack  the  means  to  obtain  it.  Who 
can  limit  the  possibilities  which  lie  before  the 
devout  young  man  or  woman  who  is  brimful  of 
faith,  energy  and  perseverance?  Of  the  most 
eminent  men  in  the  church  and  State  it  may  be 
said,  "  These  are  they  who  have  come  out  of  great 
tribulation." 

3d.  In  all  our  churches  there  is  a  class  of  earn 
est,  devout  men  and  women  who  long  for  emanci 
pation  from  sin,  and  sigh  and  cry  after  holiness  of 
heart.  Such  will,  perhaps,  read  with  interest  the 
writer's  story  of  his  experience  of  the  weakness  of 
human  resolutions  and  favorable  surroundings,  in 
the  contest  with  sinful  habits  and  temptations,  and 
the  power  of  Christ  to  deliver  and  to  keep  the 
soul  that  casts  itself  on  Him  wholly  for  help. 

4th.  To  the  theological  student  and  young 
minister  seeking  a  field  of  labor,  these  pages  may 
suggest  some  special  attraction  in  the  home  mis 
sionary  and  pioneer  fields.  After  a  life  spent 
upon  the  border,  were  the  writer  to  choose  his 
field  again  he  would  go  among  the  poorer 
churches  and  spend  his  life,  or  at  least  begin  it, 
upon  the  frontier. 

And,  finally,  he  hopes  these  pages  will  contain 
words  fitly  spoken  to  those  who,  like  himself,  have 
passed  their  threescore  years  and  ten,  and  are 


Vill  PREFACE. 

soon  to  fold  their  tents  and  pass  over  the  Jordan. 
To  such  he  would  speak  only  words  of  encourage 
ment  and  cheer.  He  fully  believes  in  the  possi 
bility  of  a  serene,  cheerful  and  even  '  py  old  age. 
Infirmities  indeed  there  are,  but  the  helps  prom 
ised  correspond,  "  For  as  thy  day  is,  so  shall  thy 
strength  be."  Nearly  all  expect  to  be  old  some 
time,  should  life  be  prolonged ;  it  will  come  full 
soon,  and  too  soon  we  cannot  begin  to  prepare 
for  it.  And  if  we  do  it  will,  save  in  special  cases, 
be  the  most  joyful  period  of  life.  Farewell,  kind 
reader,  let  us  each  act  our  part  bravely  in  life 
— lay  up  abundant  stores  for  old  age,  and  when 
the  end  comes  may  those  who  stand  round  our 
graves  be  reminded  of  the  sweet  words  of  inspi 
ration,  "  Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the 
upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace." 

San  BIMWI  Ventura,  Cat.,  Oct.  i,  1887. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  FIRST  FIFTEEN  YEARS   OF  MY  LIFE. 

I  was  born  in  Cheshire,  New  Haven  County, 
Conn.,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1815.  My  father  had  just 
been  drafted  into  the  army  which  served  against 
Great  Britain  in  the  second  war  with  that  power. 
My  grandfather  had  served  six  years  in  the  War  of 
the  Revolution,  and  was  one  of  the  tall  and  well- 
built  veterans  selected  to  receive  the  arms  of  the 
British  soldiers  who  surrendered  at  Yorktown.  He 
was  a  powerfully-built  man,  brave  and  generous. 
He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  and  when  he  had 
enlisted  with  Washington's  army  he  staid  by  it 
to  the  end  of  the  war — six  long  and  weary  years — 
and  was  in  at  the  death  of  English  domination  in 
America. 

I  was  born  on  the  farm  where  my  father  was 
born,  where  his  father  was  born,  where  his  father  was 
born,  and  which  his  father  cleared  and  cultivated 
and  where,  also,  he  died,  five  generations  of  us, 
successively  living  practically  under  the  same  roof, 
and  deriving  our  sustenance  from  the  same  acres. 
Our  original  ancestor  referred  to  was  an  emigrant 
from  England.  He  was  one  of  some  forty  heads 
of  families  who  colonized  a  section  of  the  Con 
necticut  forest,  claimed  by  the  New  Haven  Colony, 

(9) 


10  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

some  fifteen  miles  north  of  New  Haven  Harbor. 
This  section  was  some  twelve  miles  square,  and 
was  at  the  time  an  almost  unbroken  forest,  abound 
ing  in  great  oaks,  some  of  which  were  from  500  to 
1,000  years  old.  Other  trees  there  were,  such  as 
beech,  elm,  walnut,  chestnut,  butternut,  maple,  ash, 
bass,  alder,  pepperidge,  boxwood,  ironwood,  etc. 
There  were  no  prairies  in  all  the  State.  The 
dark  and  dense  woods  covered  every  square  rod, 
from  hilltop  to  valley.  Every  acre  was  pre-emp 
ted  by  them.  The  only  exceptions  were  the 
water  courses  and  an  occasional  pond  created  by 
beaver-dams,  or  flood  wood  piled  up  by  freshets  in 
the  narrow  gorge.  It  requires  not  a  little  of  bone 
and  muscle,  and  of  courage,  too,  for  a  man  with  a 
family  to  settle  down  for  life  in  a  forest  so  wild  and 
forbidding.  But  "a  man  was  famous  in  those 
days,  according  as  he  lifted  up  axes  against  the 
mighty  oaks."  Indian  wigwams  were  here  and 
there  in  the  valleys  and  along  the  streams,  and  not 
infrequent  were  their  calls  upon  the  pale  faces, 
asking  tribute  of  them  for  the  privilege  of  dwell 
ing  in  their  vicinity.  This  part  of  Connecticut  was 
a  very  paradise  for  the  Indian.  Its  winters  were 
comparatively  mild  and  free  from  snow.  For  the 
warm  ocean  air  melted  it  away  soon  after  it  fell. 
Its  rivers  and  brooks  were  full  of  fish,  such  as 
trout,  suckers,  pike  and  small  bass.  Its  ponds, 
small  and  great,  abounded  in  eels,  bull-heads,  frogs 
and  turtles.  Deer,  wild  cat  and  catamount  were 
numerous.  There,  too,  were  raccoon,  woodchuck 


THE  FIRST  FIFTEEN   YEARS  OF  MY  LIFE.       II 

and  squirrels  without  number,  the  latter,  naturally 
daring  and  impudent,  coming  down  the  trees 
almost  within  reach  of  the  Indian's  arm,  and  defy 
ing  him  to  try  his  arrow  upon  them.  Partridges 
drummed  in  the  thickets,  pigeons  crowed  and 
cooed  in  the  oaks,  while  quail  and  thrush  and  black 
bird  and  robin  made  all  the  welkin  ring  with  their 
morning  orison  and  their  noon-day  song.  Night, 
too,  had  its  minstrels,  the  lively  whip-poor-will,  the 
solemn  owl  and  the  katy-did.  Berries,  too,  and 
nuts  in  varieties  far  exceeding  those  of  any  other 
land  I  have  ever  visited,  were  found  on  every 
square  mile,  and  in  quantities  almost  incredible. 
The  adjacent  shores  and  shoals  of  Long  Island 
Sound  were  covered  with  oysters,  quohogs,  clams, 
mussels,  scallops  and  almost  every  species  of  the 
great  conch  family.  And  when  you  add  to  all  this 
long  list  upon  the  Indian's  bill  of  fare,  the  vast 
shoals  of  menhaden,  haddock,  codfish  and  black- 
fish,  which  often,  in  those  early  days,  nearly  choked 
the  entrances  into  its  small  bays,  inlets  and  rivers, 
then  surely  you  have  demonstrated  that  this, 
indeed,  was  a  very  paradise  for  the  Indians  of 
New  England.  Very  naturally,  it  also  became 
the  fighting  ground,  where  fierce  tribes  strove  for 
the  possession  of  the  coveted  prize,  a  contest 
always  ending,  not  as  Darwin  says,  in  "  the  sur 
vival  of  the  fittest" — that  is,  the  most  peace  loving, 
humane  and  gentle — but  rather  in  the  survival  of 
the  worst,  that  is  of  the  most  warlike  and  war-lov 
ing,  the  most  bloodthirsty,  cruel  and  treacherous. 


12  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

It  was  here  on  the  north  border  of  the  New  Haven 
Colony,  and  among  these  warlike  tribes  our  ances 
tor  selected  his  location  and  received  from  the 
colonial  officials  a  liberal  grant  of  land.  It  was  on 
the  east  line  of  the  present  township  of  Cheshire, 
and  on  the  west  of  that  of  Wallingford.  Here  our 
ancestor  lived  many  years,  brought  up  a  family, 
wrestled  with  the  oaks  and  fought  out  the  battle 
of  life.  Little  has  come  down  to  us  respecting 
him.  But  the  ancestral  acres  are  invested  with  a 
historic  lore,  more  interesting  to  us  of  the  fifth 
generation  than  tongue  can  tell.  Here  a  bear 
was  chased  down,  treed  and  killed.  There  a  ghost 
was  seen — a  veritable  ghost — and  somebody  died 
soon  after.  In  yonder  secluded  valley  lived  a  witch 
who  was  wont  nightly  to  sally  forth,  and,  trans 
forming  some  innocent  man  or  woman  into  a  horse, 
she  rode  her  victim  unmercifully  over  corduroy 
roads  and  high  hills,  till  just  at  daydawn  she 
returned  home  and  changed  back  the  animal  she 
rode  from  horse  to  man  or  woman  again.  All  the 
next  day  she  would  smile  on  her  visitors  and  chat 
ter  with  them  of  all  good  things,  as  if  she  was, 
indeed,  but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels.  Not  so 
her  hard  ridden  neighbor,  who  grunted  all  day 
with  galled  back,  swollen  legs,  roweled  sides  and 
rheumatic  joints.  Yonder  stood  a  house  where 
once  a  man  was  shot!  At  the  funeral  one  of  his  ten 
thumbs  and  fingers  pointed  straight  toward  a  man 
in  the  crowd  which  gathered  at  his  funeral !  No 
doubt  that  was  his  murderer,  else  why  did  that 
finger  point  at  him  ? 


THE  FIRST  FIFTEEN  YEARS  OF  MY  LIFE.       13 

Not  to  tarry  longer  among  the  scenes  of  this 
prehistoric  period,  I  pass  to  say  that  the  first  fif 
teen  years  of  my  life  were,  in  the  main,  uneventful. 
They  were  passed  in  alternate  attendance  upon 
school  (district)  and  working  on  the  farm.  The 
school  term  for  us  farmer  boys  was  usually  about 
four  months,  in  winter,  while  the  work  on  the  farm 
occupied  us  the  other  eight  months  of  the  year. 
Happy  and  specially  privileged  was  the  youth 
who  could  average  five  months  of  schooling  per 
year  till  he  was  sixteen.  I  do  not  think  I  was 
noted  during  this  period  of  my  life  for  anything 
save  for  uniform  good  nature,  fearlessness  and 
athletic  feats.  I  had  the  name  of  being  what  they 
called  a  "  dare-devil  boy,"  ready  for  any  advent 
ure  which  called  for  strength,  and  that  ready  and 
practical  wit  which  in  some  persons  is  only 
brought  out  by  emergencies.  My  father,  my 
uncles  and  even  my  grandfather,  seeing  this  trait 
in  me,  used  often  to  test  it,  even  when  I  was  but  a 
small  boy,  by  various  endeavors  to  frighten  me, 
and  great  was  the  zest  with  which  they  often  told 
to  each  other  the  stories  of  their  failures.  I 
remember  many  of  them,  and  will  narrate  one  as  a 
sample:  It  was  a  dark  and  stormy  night,  the  win 
dows  in  the  old  house  rattled  and  shook  fearfully, 
and  all  things  seemed  weird  and  ghostly,  when  my 
father  proposed. that  I  should  go  out  into  the  back 
room,  without  a  candle,  feel  my  way  to  the  cellar 
door  and  go  down  the  rickety  stairs.  Reaching 
the  floor  of  the  cellar  I  was  to  lift  up  my  voice  and 
cry  out  in  the  darkness : 


14  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

"Old  Grandpa  Grey  Beard, 

Without  a  tooth  or  tongue, 
Give  me  your  little  finger, 
And  I'll  give  you  my  thumb." 

Then  I  was  to  march  to  the  end  of  the  cellar,  and 
as  I  went  was  to  stop  at  each  vinegar  cask,  or 
whisky  barrel,  or  cider  hogshead,  and,  thumping 
three  times  on  the  head  of  each,  I  was  to  repeat 
the  incantation ;  on  my  way  back  I  was  to  do  the 
same.  Dared  I  to  do  it?  Was  I  not  too  big  a 
coward  for  that?  What  would  he  give  me  to  do 
it?  He  drew  out  eighteen  cents  and  said,  "  I  will 
give  you  that."  Well,  put  it  in  mother's  hands. 
He  did  so,  and  I  started  ;  I  fumbled  and  felt  my 
way  to  the  bottom  of  the  stairs.  There  I  made  the 
cellar  caverns  resound  with  that  dolorous  incanta 
tion.  I  did  not  know  what  it  meant,  and  I  don't  now, 
but  it  seemed  to  me  I  stood  at  the  mouth  of  Pluto's 
pit,  and  was  daring  the  very  devil  himself  to  come 
out  and  take  me  if  he  could.  But  I  was  bound  to 
put  it  through  now  I  had  begun.  I  felt  my  way 
along  and  thumped  vigorously  on  the  cider  hogs 
head  and  whisky  barrel.  What  sepulchral  sounds 
they  gave  back !  I  had  reached  the  end  and  was 
on  my  way  back  when  I  was  startled  by  lugubri 
ous  shrieks  and  moans  proceeding  from  the  center 
of  the  stairway  !  I  was  standing  by  a  potato  bin, 
and,  taking  out  a  big  one,  I  threw  it !  It  hit  my 
father  full  in  the  face,  and  he  cried  out, "  Take  care ! 
You  hurt !  "  He  retreated  up  stairs  and  I  followed, 
and  got  my  eighteen  cents.  Mother  laughed  at 
him  as  I  never  knew  her  to  do  before  or  since. 


THE  FIRST  FIFTEEN  YEARS  OF   MY  LIFE.       1 5 

My  grandfather,  too,  exhausted  on  me  his  sto 
ries  of  witches  and  ghosts  and  scenes  of  blood  and 
robbery  and  murder,  "  to  try  the  boy's  mettle," 
he  used  to  tell  grandmother,  when  she  remon 
strated.  He  would  keep  us  around  his  great  fire 
place,  eating  apples  and  drinking  cider,  the  long 
winter  evenings,  entertaining  us  with  his  wonder 
fully  interesting  stories.  But  the  blackest  and 
bloodiest  and  most  horrifying  of  all  were  reserved 
for  the  last  of  the  evening.  And  great  was  the 
old  man's  glee  when  he  could  by  this  means  induce 
any  of  his  grandchildren  to  stay  with  him  over 
night.  But  I  have  no  recollection  of  ever  gratify 
ing  the  dear  old  grandsire  by  waiting  till  morn 
ing  before  I  dared  to  go  down  into  the  foggy  val 
ley  which  lay  between  our  house  and  grandfather's. 
The  valley  was  pleasant  enough  by  day,  when  we 
boys  went  there  to  fish  or  to  skate,  but  in  the  dark 
and  foggy  night  how  dismal  it  was!  A  very  val 
ley  of  Gehenna  to  us !  There  were  the  ruins  of 
the  old  distillery,  the  cellar  of  the  old  haunted 
house,  and  where,  according  to  grandfather,  "  oft 
the  sheeted  dead  did  squeak  and  gibber  as  in  the 
Roman  streets,"  and  where  now,  in  these  degen 
erate  days,  their  successors,  the  bats,  flitted  and 
coursed  their  crooked  ways  up  and  down  the 
creek ;  where  the  great  owls  flapped  their  dusky 
wings  and  muttered  forebodings  of  bad  luck  to  all 
wicked  boys  who,  like  me,  dared  to  intrude  upon 
their  solemn  meditations  during  the  dark  hours 
of  night!  Where,  moreover,  10,000  toads  and 


16  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

frogs,  from  the  great-mouthed  bullfrog  of  alder- 
manic  proportions  and  dignity,  whose  deep  bass 
voice  sounded  like  a  bass  drum  in  the  distance,  up 
through  all  the  grades  of  lesser  frogs,  to  the  tiny 
tree  toad,  who  sat  above  the  rest  on  a  willow 
branch,  piping  prophecies  of  rainfall  and  freshet, 
making,  in  the  aggregate,  a  pandemonium  of 
noises  which  burdened  all  the  dank  and  sickly  air ! 
All  this,  and  more,  made  the  aforesaid  valley  little 
less  than  a  gauntlet  through  which  we  children 
hastened  home  with  bated  breath  and  quickened 
steps. 

Let  not  the  reader  think  I  have  overdrawn  this 
picture  of  the  dismal  valley.  Ought  not  I  to  know, 
who  bobbed  for  eels  a  hundred  nights  up  and  down 
the  brook,  ofttimes  alone,  and  sometimes  stay 
ing  out  till  12  o'clock,  waiting  for  one  more 
bite  ?  Yes,  I  speak  with  authority  !  I  know  all 
about  the  dark  valley,  and  how  often  I  tripped 
lightly  through  it,  my  feet  scarce  touching  the 
ground,  and  by  no  means  as  the  ignorant  poet  says, 
"  whistling  to  keep  my  courage  up,"  but  careful 
not  to  step  upon  a  leaf,  lest  the  evil  one  should 
awake  and  learn  who  was  passing.  I  was  cour 
ageous  enough  when  I  reached  the  top  of  the  hill, 
and  I  could  see  the  lights  in  my  father's  house 
near  by.  But  how  was  it  when  down  in  the  val 
ley?  But  enough  of  this,  so  brook  of  my  child 
hood,  farewell ! 

THE  WOODCHUCK  STORY. 

While  yet  a  boy  and  not  old  enough  to  handle 


THE  FIRST   FIFTEEN   YEARS   OF   MY   LIFE.       \J 

a  gun  I  became  passionately  fond  of  hunting  and 
fishing.  I  doubt  whether  Nimrod  or  Esau  were 
naturally  more  so.  I  knew  all  about  the  haunts 
and  habits  of  the  game  in  our  vicinity,  and  set 
snares  and  nets  and  traps,  and  figure  fours  and 
deadfalls  to  capture  them.  But,  in  one  of  my 
feats,  I  received  a  setback  which  ever  after  greatly 
modified  my  treatment  of  wild  animals.  I  had  set 
a  steel  trap  for  a  woodchuck ;  when  caught  it 
proved  to  be  a  mother,  from  whose  appearance  I 
judged  she  had  a  litter  of  small  sucking  wood- 
chucks  in  the  hole.  I  did  not  like  to  kill  her  and 
leave  her  young  ones  to  die  the  lingering  death  of 
starvation.  I  tried  to  get  her  leg  out  of  the  trap, 
but  it  was  broken  badly ;  I  got  a  stick  and  pressed 
with  all  my  weight  upon  the  spring.  It  broke  in 
two  and  I  fell  upon  her.  The  teeth  snapped  vig 
orously  about  my  clothes.  In  the  melee  I  gave 
her  a  blow  which  killed  her.  The  next  day,  toward 
evening,  I  visited  the  hole  and  found  four  young 
kitten  woodchucks  gathered  at  the  mouth  of  the 
hole,  waiting  for  the  return  of  their  mother.  See 
ing  me  they  scampered  back  into  the  hole.  Why 
should  they  not  ?  Was  not  I  the  murderer  of  their 
mother?  What  harm  had  they  ever  done  to  me? 
And  for  that  matter  what  wrong  had  I  received 
from  their  mother  ?  Who  else  had  she  wronged  ? 
Could  we  not  spare  her  a  few  heads  of  clover? 
Well,  I  felt  bad,  went  home  and  told  my  brother. 
He  felt  as  I  did.  We  would  carry  them  some 
choice  fresh  clover  heads!  We  did  so.  The 


1 8  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

next  day,  at  evening,  we  went  again.  They 
were  all  there,  looking  off  toward  the  clover 
patch,  if  possible,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  their  mother 
again.  They  ran  back  as  we  came  nigh !  Alas, 
the  clover  heads  were  untasted,  they  were  too 
young,  they  wanted  milk!  What  should  we  do? 
We  would  dig  them  out  and  feed  them  on  cow's 
milk,  or,  at  least,  put  them  out  of  their  misery. 
But  the  job  was  too  much  for  us,  the  great  oak 
roots  were  too  large  and  strong  for  us,  and  the 
burrow  too  intricate  and  deep,  and  we  had  to  give 
it  up.  In  a  few  days  they  dug  out,  poor,  gaunt 
and  hollow-eyed  creatures,  one  after  another  went 
into  the  hole  and  never  came  out  again.  The  last 
one,  after  about  eight  days'  starvation,  was  so  weak 
that  we  caught  it.  We  offered  it  milk,  but  it  was 
too  far  gone,  and  it  died  in  our  hands.  Since  then 
there  has  been  a  tender  spot  in  my  heart  when  I 
have  had  to  do  with  harmless  brute  creatures 
when  rearing  their  young. 

PROFANITY. 

Recurring  to  the  " dare-devil  fearlessness" 
attributed  to  me  in  my  boyhood,  there  was  one 
phase  of  it  not  usual  with  boys  of  that  ilk.  I  never 
tried  to  show  it  by  taking  my  Maker's  name  in 
vain.  Swearing  was  in  those  days  quite  common; 
nearly  all  our  relatives  and  neighbors,  on  the  male 
side,  were  more  or  less  addicted  to  it,  so  were  not 
a  few  of  the  boys  of  my  age.  But  to  me,  it  was 
about  the  most  unreasonable,  low-down  and  con- 


THE  FIRST  FIFTEEN   YEARS   OF   MY   LIFE.        ig 

temptible  of  all  the  forms  of  sin.  As  I  read  the 
Decalogue,  no  one  of  the  commandments  seemed 
to  me  so  reasonable,  and  indeed  so  pathetic  as  that 
which  says  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain !"  Could  the  dear  Father, 
whose  fingers  fashioned  us  and  brought  us  forth, 
and  to  whom  we  owe  everything,  could  he  ask 
less  of  us,  as  we  went  forth  from  His  arms  of  love, 
than  that  we  should  treat  His  name  with  respect  ? 
And  what  language  is  competent  to  denounce  in 
suitable  terms  of  loathing  and  scorn  the  reckless 
wretch  who  tramples  under  foot  ever  that  com 
mand,  and  goes  out  of  his  way,  even  on  the  most 
trivial  occasions,  to  kick  about,  as  an  old  hat,  the 
sacred  name  of  God?  From  a  child  I  hated  the 
words  and  scorned  the  man  who  used  them.  Years 
before  I  had  reached  my  fifteenth,  it  had  become  a 
principle  with  me  to  avoid  association  with  boys 
or  men  who  were  profane.  Not  a  few  alterca 
tions  over  the  matter  occurred  between  me  and 
my  playmates,  when  the  profanity  became  unen 
durable.  Sometimes  the  swearers  twitted  me  with 
being  pious,  and  while  I  said,  "  You  know  well  I  am 
not,"  yet,  I  added,  "  I  am  not  mean  enough  to 
insult  the  God  that  gave  me  being,  and  if  you  are 
and  intend  to  keep  it  up,  then  let  us  separate  right 
here."  Usually  others  interposed,  the  swearing 
was  suspended,  and  the  play  went  on.  I  noted 
that  these  swearers  seldom  afterward  troubled  us 
with  their  profane  speech.  This  abhorrence  of  pro 
fanity  has  amounted  almost  to  a  passion  with  me, 


20  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

down  to  the  present  time.  The  sentiment  is  very 
emphatic  within,  "  /  cannot  endure  profanity  and  I 
will  not."  And  I  have  two  things  in  relation  to  it, 
for  which  I  am  profoundly  grateful :  First,  I  have 
never  yet  indulged  in  one  word  of  profane  swear 
ing.  Second,  I  have  enjoyed  during  my  life  a 
wonderful  exemption  from  annoyance  from  its  use. 
In  the  course  of  a  long  life,  spent  largely  on  the 
frontier,  in  the  mines,  on  the  plains  and  elsewhere, 
where  rough  language  is  largely  in  vogue,  I  have 
been  brought  in  frequent  contact  with  it.  Slight 
words  I  have  seldom  noticed  at  first,  but  when 
they  waxed  thicker  and  blacker,  and  the  great 
words  came  out,  then  I  have  attacked  the  swearer 
in  a  very  decided  manner,  and  not  one  time  in 
twenty,  if  my  recollection  serves  me,  have  I  failed 
of  an  essential  suppression  of  the  vice.  Just  what 
brought  this  about,  whether  the  form  and  manner 
of  the  reproof,  or  something  else,  I  know  not, 
but  it  has  surprised  me  a  hundred  times. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  SABBATH   SCHOOL. 

When  about  twelve  years  old,  in  the  year  1827, 
there  came  to  our  place  the  pastor  of  a  neighbor 
ing  church,  and  addressed  the  Congregational 
Church,  which  I  attended,  on  the  subject  of  Sab 
bath  schools.  I  had  never  heard  of  them  before. 
The  subject  was  new  to  all  the  people.  After  a 
very  interesting  address  all  were  invited  to  retire 
to  the  basement  of  the  church  who  were  in  favor 
of  organizing  a  school.  A  goodly  number  of  boys 
and  girls,  and  their  elders  too,  gathered  there.  A 
superintendent  was  chosen,  and  teachers  were 
called  for.  And  while  they  were  being  called  out 
or  volunteering,  the  superintendent,  observing  a 
young  lawyer  in  a  back  seat,  and  looking  on  with 
great  interest,  called  out:  "  Squire  Foot!  Wont 
you  take  a  class?"  The  young  lawyer,  who  had 
scarce  reached  his  twenty-first  year,  and  had  just 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  law,  arose,  and  with 
many  blushes,  begged  to  be  excused.  He  alleged 
his  incompetency,  being,  he  said,  "  better  ac 
quainted  with  Blackstone  than  the  Bible."  He 
sat  down.  But  better  thoughts  came  into  his  mind. 
After  some  moments  of  reflection  he  rose  and  said* 
"  Mr.  Superintendent !  I  have  concluded  I  will 

(21) 


22  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

take  a  class  and  do  my  best  for  it,  provided  you 
will  let  me  select  my  scholars."  "  Certainly ! 
certainly  ! "  said  the  superintendent,  and  a  mur 
mur  of  approbation  and  gladness  passed  over  the 
audience,  for  all  loved  "  Squire  Foot."  He  had 
grown  up  in  Cheshire,  a  natural  gentleman,  polite 
to  everybody,  and  his  life  without  a  blemish. 
Was  he  not  the  son  of  Hon.  Samuel  Augustus 
Foot,  for  many  years  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Connecticut,  and  even  then  its  honored  Senator  in 
the  National  Congress,  and  accounted  one  of  the 
great  men  of  the  nation  ?  Well,  the  young  lawyer 
went  forward  and  looked  fairly  in  the  faces  of  the 
youths  gathered  before  him,  and  then  proceeded  to 
select  from  among  them  his  pupils.  He  laid  his 
trembling  hand  on  one  head  and  another.  To  my 
utter  astonishment,  as  he  came  near  where  I  was 
sitting,  he  laid  his  hand  on  my  head  and  asked  so 
tenderly,  "Will  you  be  a  member  of  my  class?" 
I  assented.  But  surely,  there  must  be  some  mis 
take  about  it !  Surely  he  does  not  know  me,  and 
never  heard  of  me !  I  was  a  plainly  dressed  farmer's 
boy,  the  sun  had  browned  my  face,  my  hands  were 
hard  with  work,  and  though  at  church,  possibly 
I  even  then  was  barefoot.  Well,  he  led  us  apart 
to  the  seat  we  were  to  occupy,  and  gave  us  our 
lesson,  the  portion  of  Scripture  we  were  to  learn 
by  heart,  and  repeat  the  next  Sabbath.  I  was  for 
the  time  dazed  with  astonishment,  but  I  felt  the 
honor  and  the  stimulus  of  the  notice  taken  of  me 
by  the  young  lawyer,  more  than  now  I  would  to 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL.  23 

be  made  Governor  of  the  State.    A  new  prospect 
opened  before  me,  new  hopes  began  to  dawn,  per 
haps  I  could  get  to  be  something  in  the  world — I 
would  try.     Squire  Foot  should  have  no  occasion 
to   regret   his   choice.     There   were  eight  of  us. 
The  next  Sabbath  we  were  all  in  our  places ;  we  all 
repeated  our  verses  without  failure,  our  teacher 
commended  us,  and  that  amply  paid  us  for  our 
effort.     By  degrees  we  grew  familiar  and  dared  to 
ask  questions  as  well  as  to  answer  them.    The 
young   lawyer's  interest   in    the  Sabbath   school 
increased,  and  he  was  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  his 
boys.     For  more  than  three  years  he   was  our 
teacher,  and  great  and  lasting  was  the  impression 
he  made  upon  us.     He  was  a  model  teacher,  and 
in  some  respects  peculiar,  especially  for  the  per 
sonal  interest  he  ever  showed  in  each  of  his  class. 
I  was  frequently  sent  to  the  village  on  errands ;  it 
was  two  miles  distant,  and  in  summer  I  sometimes 
went  barefoot,  but  it  made  no  difference  with  my 
teacher — if  I  met  him  on   the   street,  he  always 
greeted  me  cordially,  took  my  hand  and  asked  of 
my  welfare,  and  that  of  our  family.     Sometimes 
he  would  even  cross  over  the  wide  street  to  meet 
me  on  the  opposite  sidewalk.    It  mattered  not  who 
was  with  him,  he  always  stopped  to  speak  with  us. 
On  one  occasion  he  was  walking  with  (I  believe) 
a  Member  of  Congress,  on  a  visit  to  his  father. 
He  stopped,  shook  hands  with  me  and  introduced 
me  to  the  stranger  as  one  of  his  Sabbath  school 
class,  and  spoke  to  him  of   my  diligence  in  my 


24  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

studies,  and  instanced  some  reply  I  had  made  the 
Sunday  before  to  a  question,  which  he  regarded 
as  specially  sensible  and  perhaps,  bright.  When 
he  met  my  father  or  mother  he  would  make 
inquiries  after  me,  and  utter  warm  words  in  my 
praise.  These  things  took  strong  hold  of  me ;  they 
stiffened  my  backbone,  and  sooner  would  I  have 
lost  my  right  arm  than  the  confidence  of  my 
teacher.  I  do  not  suppose  his  treatment  of  me  was 
peculiar ;  very  likely  he  treated  the  whole  class  in 
like  manner. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CONVERSION. 

Three  years  passed  and  the  boys  of  twelve  had 
become  the  youths  of  fifteen.  We  had  become 
greatly  attached  to  each  other,  and  had  all  of  us 
come  under  Gospel  influences  which  were  daily 
modifying  our  characters.  Combined  with  other 
causes  they  culminated  in  my  conversion  when  a 
few  weeks  past  fifteen,  and  in  this  way  it  was 
brought  about.  The  Congregationalists  of  that 
day  were  accustomed  to  hold,  occasionally,  three 
days'  meetings  ;  such  a  meeting  was  held  in  Chesh 
ire  ;  the  preaching  was  principally  by  Rev.  N. 
W.  Taylor,  of  the  New  Haven  Theological  Sem 
inary.  I  attended  the  second  day  and  heard  the 
wonderful  preacher  portray  the  love  of  God  to 
ward  men,  even  sinful  men,  and  his  desire,  sincere, 
heartfelt,  and  unequivocal,  that  every  man,  woman 
and  child  on  earth  should  repent,  and  do  it  now. 
The  dogma,  that  somehow  God  did  not  want  all 
to  repent,  he  trod  down  with  utmost  scorn  and 
indignation ;  then  the  terms  of  salvation,  re 
pentance — what  it  is  toward  man,  what  it  is 
toward  God  ;  then  faith — a  leaning  upon  Christ's 
arm,  mighty  to  save  unto  the  uttermost,  all  who 
submit  and  lean  upon  him.  I  was  greatly  interested, 

(25) 


26  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  long  before  he  had  finished  his  sermon  I  had 
anticipated  his  conclusions.  I  saw  clearly  just 
what  I  must  do  to  be  accepted  and  forgiven.  I 
must  start  off  as  I  was  then,  as  Peter  did,  in  fish 
erman's  dress,  and  follow  Christ,  making  the  law 
of  his  lips  the  rule  of  my  life.  That  there  was  no 
need  to  wait  for  further  convictions,  or  even  for 
deeper  feeling,  but  that  I  could  go  to  him  as  I  was 
and  in  his  tutelage  find,  in  due  time,  all  the  feeling 
and  hate  of  sin  I  needed  to  have.  Manifestly  the 
first  step  was  a  formal  and  sincere  pledge  to  count 
myself  the  Lord's  servant  from  this  moment 
onward.  This  I  did  at  once;  leaning  my  head  for 
ward  upon  the  back  of  the  seat  in  front  of  me, 
covering  my  face  with  my  hands,  three  times  I 
deliberately  repeated  the  consecration  to  Him  who 
possessed  my  reins  and  my  heart,  and  asked  Him 
to  accept  and  ratify  it.  And  now  a  great  struggle 
ensued.  Obstacles,  many  and  almost  insurmount 
able,  rose  up  before  me.  I  believe  the  evil  spirits 
who  had  me  in  charge  were  furious  at  my  at 
tempted  escape,  and  they  assailed  me  with  object 
ions  and  difficulties  I  had  never  thought  of  before. 
But  I  called  upon  the  Lord,  and  he  helped  me.  He 
said  to  the  winds  and  waves,  Be  still,  and  there 
was  a  great  calm.  When  my  assailants  returned 
again,  a  resort  to  the  same  great  Helper  brought  a 
second  deliverance.  Indeed,  I  soon  found  the 
throne  of  grace  a  refuge  from  temptation  and  the 
storm.  My  tempters  finding  their  violent  assaults 
only  drove  me  to  the  Lord,  they  desisted  in  large 


CONVERSION.  27 

measure,  and  resorted  to  other  tactics  better  cal 
culated  to  further  their  designs. 

CHRISTIAN    WORK,   IMMEDIATELY   SUBSEQUENT  TO 
CONVERSION. 

At  the  time  of  my  conversion  I  was  at  work  by 
the  month,  for  a  man  who  carried  on  extensive 
farming,  ran  a  distillery,  and  employed  quite  a 
number  of  men.  None  of  them  were  religious, 
and  at  once  they  set  upon  me,  to  ridicule  me  out 
of  my  allegiance  to  God — my  religion.  I  was  the 
youngest  of  them  all,  and  it  seemed  to  me  the 
devil  helped  them  when  they  were  together,  to 
make  sport  of  my  faith,  and  make  a  mock  at  sin. 
When  two  or  more  of  them  were  together  they 
were  too  much  for  me,  but  I  soon  found  my  way 
effectually  to  spike  their  guns.  /  took  them  one  by 
one,  and,  when  alone  with  them,  I  talked  with  them 
of  my  newborn  faith,  and  love,  and  joy.  Of  the 
new  life  1  was  trying  to  live,  its  present  peace,  and 
its  hopes  of  the  future,  and  frequent  foretaste  of  a 
bliss  sweeter  than  earth  could  give.  And  I  entreated 
them  not  to  hinder  me,  nor  trifle  in  a  matter  of 
such  infinite  importance  to  us  all.  Emboldened 
by  going  so  far,  I  went  farther;  I  asked  them  to 
make  a  break  for  eternal  life.  Could  they  do  it 
too  soon  ?  Would  not  Christ  help  them  ?  What 
if  they  should  be  lost  forever,  etc.?  When  thus 
addressed,  and  alone,  they  could  neither  answer 
me,  nor  scarce  resist  my  appeals.  Often  they 
wept  and  sometimes  asked  me  to  pray  for  them 


28  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  with  them.  Thenceforward  that  gun  was 
spiked,  that  person  troubled  me  no  more ;  he  knew 
I  had  his  secret  and  his  conscience  too.  Thus  I 
took  them  one  by  one,  till  the  boss  of  the  gang  was 
reached.  He  was  harder  than  the  rest,  but  God  gave 
me  a  mouth  and  wisdom  in  my  appeals  and  argu 
ments  he  could  not  gainsay  or  resist,  and  so  at  the 
last  they  began  to  go  to  meeting  with  me,  and  the 
ridicule  was  over.  Sooner  or  later  nearly  all 
of  them  gave  evidence  of  conversion.  Thus  I 
found  that  the  best  method  of  self-defence  is  to 
"  carry  the  war  into  Africa." 

The  second  prayer-meeting  I  attended  after  my 
conversion  I  arose  and  tried  to  stand  up  for  Jesus. 
I  did  not  utter  coherently  and  distinctly  the  words 
I  intended,  which  were — "He  hath  taken  my  feet 
from  the  miry  clay  and  placed  them  upon  a  rock," 
but  I  did  succeed  in  putting  down  that  fear  of 
man  which  brings  a  snare.  From  that  evening 
onward  it  was  always  expected  that  I  would  take 
a  part  in  every  prayer-meeting  I  attended.  Nor 
do  I  know  that  they  were  ever  disappointed. 
Usually  I  was  the  first  one  to  speak  or  to  pray. 
The  reason  for  that  was  this :  I  found  that  the  mos- 
difficult  place  in  the  prayer-meeting.  As  a  general 
thing  at  that  time — all  are  not  there — more  or  less 
are  coming  in — there  is  noise  and  disturbance. 
Then  too,  the  religious  pulse  has  not  been  quick 
ened,  so  as  to  make  it  easy  to  take  part.  Yet  I 
found  this  a  most  important  place — the  starting  off 
of  the  services.  And  I  asked  the  Lord  to  help  me 


CONVERSION.  29 

to  do  that  work.  I  believe  He  did,  and  I  was  helped 
in  it.  Yet  there  were  some — even  in  the  church 
—who  misunderstood  it.  They  attributed  it  to 
unwarrantable  forwardness,  especially  in  one  so 
young.  One  of  them,  a  man  of  large  wealth  and 
influence,  came  to  me  and  asked  significantly, 
"Aren't  some  of  you  young  people  getting  beyond 
your  years  in  talking  so  much  in  meeting  ?"  I 
remember  well  my  reply.  It  was  this :  "Mr.  G — , 
if  you  will  attend  these  prayer-meetings,  and  speak 
and  pray  in  them,  and  see  that  the  time  is  well 
occupied,  I  will  agree  not  to  open  my  mouth.'" 
"Humph  !"  said  he,  and  dropped  his  head  and  went 
away  greatly  disgusted,  for  he  would  not  have 
prayed  in  a  prayer-meeting  for  a  hundred  dollars, 
much  as  he  loved  money.  About  this  time  our 
beloved  teacher,  at  the  close  of  a  session  of  the 
Sabbath  school,  rose  in  his  place  and  said  :  "I  have 
a  thank-offering  to  make  to  the  Lord,  and  before  his 
people  to-day.  It  has  been  known  in  the  school 
that  for  some  months  past  a  work  of  grace  has  been 
in  progress  in  my  class.  One  after  another  has 
come  out  on  the  Lord's  side.  To-day  the  last  one 
in  my  class  expresses  the  hope  that  he  has  been 
born  again !"  He  could  say  no  more,  but  sat  down 
and  wept,  and  the  whole  school  bowed  before  the 
Lord  and  wept  with  him.  Did  ever  sweeter  in 
cense  ascend  to  God  from  Jewish  altars  than  rose 
from  that  congregation  weeping  its  tears  of  joy  ? 
"And  I  say  unto  you  there  is  joy  in  the  presence 
of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repent- 


30  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

eth."  Two  of  these  boys  became  preachers  of 
the  Gospel — one  an  honored  deacon — another  a 
class  leader  and  exhorter — two  died  early,  and 
went,  we  have  no  doubt,  to  the  Father's  house. 
Another  became  a  mechanic,  honorable  and  true, 
whose  latter  history  I  have  not  been  able  to  follow. 
And  the  eighth  was  the  only  one  who  I  believe 
never  made  a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ.  "Who 
art  thou  that  despiseth  the  day  of  small  things?" 
"Esquire  Foot"  practiced  law  in  Cheshire  all  these 
years,  but  his  labors  in  that  line  have  long  since 
passed  from  mind.  But  his  labors  in  the  Sabbath 
school  and  in  his  class,  when  will  they  be  forgotten 
and  when  will  their  influence  end? 

THE  FAMILY  ALTAR  ERECTED  IN  MY  FATHER'S 
HOUSE. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  after  my  conversion,  in 
1831,  I  returned  home  after  my  summer's  work. 
Conversing  one  evening  with  my  mother  about 
the  sad  religious  condition  of  our  kindred,  scarcely 
any  of  them  even  professing  to  be  Christians,  I 
asked  her  if  there  was  a  family  altar  in  all  our 
circle,  or  had  there  been  one  for  a  century  back. 
She  replied  sadly — none  that  she  could  think  of. 
My  father  coming  in  just  then,  I  asked  him  the 
same  question.  It  startled  him.  But  he  quickly 
replied — none  that  he  knew  of.  I  asked  was  he 
willing  to  have  one  set  up  here  ?  To  have  a  short 
prayer  offered  every  day  in  the  family,  and  a  por 
tion  of  Scripture  read  ?  He  had  no  objection. 


CONVERSION.  31 

Mother  promptly  got  the  big  Bible,  read  a  few 
verses,  and  then  I  dropped  upon  my  knees  and 
offered  up  the  prayer!  .  Thenceforward  the  fire 
was  kept  burning  and  a  daily  offering  made  there 
on,  so  long  as  I  was  an  inmate  of  my  father's  house, 
and  as  often  as  I  returned  to  it  for  a  temporary 
visit.  The  news  of  this  new  altar  to  the  Lord 
spread  among  our  kindred  and  neighbors  and 
perhaps  had  some  influence  in  bringing  about  the 
great  change — religiously — which  has  since  come 
over  them.  Looking  backward,  from  this  present, 
over  the  lapse  of  fifty  and  seven  years,  it  seems 
incredible  that  a  boy  of  fifteen  and  a  half  should 
have  ventured  upon  a  thing  so  strange  !  so  beyond 
his  years !  so  fraught  with  responsibility !  Stran 
ger  still  it  seems  when  I  recall  to  mind  that  no 
one  ever  suggested  that  such  was  my  duty.  Not 
unfrequently  a  family  gathering  occurred  at  our 
house,  and  there  gathered  there  uncles,  aunts, 
cousins  and  others,  and  we  sat  down — a  long  table 
full  of  joyful  kindred.  In  a  moment  all  was  hushed 
and  a  blessing  asked.  There  was  no  sport  made 
of  it.  It  was  too  solemn  for  that !  So  when  even 
ing  came  the  big  Bible  was  brought  out,  all  took 
seats,  a  chapter  read  and  then  the  prayer  went 
up  as  usual,  nor  was  it  ever  omitted  because  much 
company  was  there. 

A  CALL  TO  PREPARE  TO  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL. 

Not    long    after     my    conversion     I     became 
impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the   Lord   had 


32  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

• 

called  me  to  preach  his  Gospel.  Gradually,  it 
became  the  theme  of  earnest  prayer.  But  immense 
difficulties  were  in  the  way.  How  could  my  father 
spare  me  from  the  work  on  the  farm  ?  He  could 
not  help  me  financially  should  I  undertake  a  course 
of  studies.  Not  one  of  my  kindred  were  able  to 
do  it,  or  if  they  were  able  were  disposed  to  do  so. 
Nor  did  I  know  one  person  on  earth  to  whom  I 
could  look  for  one  dollar  where  ten  would  be 
needed.  Yet  the  expense  of  going  through  the 
three  schools  necessary — the  Academic,  Collegiate 
and  Theological — would  be  great.  I  could  not 
do  much  toward  it  by  my  work,  while  keeping 
along  with  my  classes.  Had  I  not  been  working 
all  the  summer  at  six  dollars  a  month,  and  the 
highest  wages  for  farm  hands  were  about  ten  dol 
lars  a  month  !  The  boss  workman  under  whom  I 
was  working  only  got  eleven  dollars  a  month ! 
While  impressed  with  the  call,  and  praying  over 
it,  our  minister,  Rev.  Joseph  Whiting,  visited  the 
family  where  I  worked.  He  inquired  for  me. 
They  would  send  and  call  me  from  the  field.  No, 
he  would  go  out  where  I  was — he  wished  to  see 
me  alone.  After  a  little  kindly  talk  about  my 
trials,  conflicts,  etc.,  he  laid  his  hand  on  my  shoul 
der  and  said  so  solemnly  as  the  tears  filled  his  eyes : 
"My  son,  has  not  the  Lord  called  you  into  his 
kingdom,  to  the  end  that  you  should  preach  his 
gospel?  And  has  not  the  Spirit  whispered  this  to 
you  already  ?"  I  could  not  answer  him  for  the 
moment.  How  had  he  got  my  secret?  I  had  not 


or 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 


CONVERSION.  33 

breathed  it  to  any  mortal.  At  length  I  confessed 
it  was  so.  That  it  was  on  my  mind  much  of  the 
time,  but  the  way  seemed  all  hedged  up.  Where 
could  I  get  the  means  ?  It  was  doubtful  if  my 
father  would  consent  till  I  was  of  age,  —  six  years 
hence  !  He  replied  that  once  he  felt  as  I  now  did. 
But  God  had  removed  one  obstacle  after  another 
and  had  led  him  through  the  long  course  of  studies 
and  into  the  ministry.  His  words  were  so  ten 
derly  dropped  upon  my  ear,  his  experience  so 
timely,  his  counsels  so  wise,  that  when  he  left  the 
field  he  left  a  youth  behind,  hopeful  and  joyous, 
and  with  purpose  settled,  to  reach  the  ministry  if 
he  could.  Dear,  blessed  man  of  God  !  to  this  day 
I  feel  the  influence  of  your  words,  the  impulse  of 
your  love.  Subsequently,  he  helped  me  by  his 
counsels,  by  books  lent,  by  hearing  me  recite,  and 
teaching  me  the  rudiments  of  Latin  and  Greek. 
An  immense  debt  of  gratitude  yet  remains  unpaid 
and  unspoken  to  this  dear  man,  this  father  of  my 
early  spiritual  life. 

"By  and  by  we  will  go  home  and  meet  him 
Away  over  in  the  promised  land." 

The  first  step  was  to  secure  the  consent  of  my 
parents,  and  the  donation  of  my  time,  from  sixteen 
and  onward.  My  father  was  not  very  strong  and 
my  brother  was  by  no  means  rugged  at  that  time, 
while  I  was  hardy,  strong,  and  capable  of  great 
endurance.  How  could  they  spare  me  ?  Hard  it 
was  for  them  and  hard  for  me  to  ask  it.  But  at 


34  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

length  consent  was  given  and  I  entered  the  Epis 
copal  Academy  in  Cheshire.  At  first  I  boarded 
at  home,  two  miles  distant,  working  Saturdays  on 
the  farm,  and  paying  my  tuition  by  ringing  the 
bell,  sweeping  the  rooms,  building  the  fires,  etc.,  etc. 
By  and  by  some  friends  in  the  village,  wishing  to 
save  me  my  long  walk,  offered  to  board  me  for  my 
work  mornings  and  evenings,  and  so  I  went  for- 
ward  toward  the  goal. 

PERSECUTION  FOR  TEMPERANCE. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  autumn  of  1832  a  lec 
turer  on  temperance  visited  our  place  and  ad 
dressed  a  large  congregation  on  the  evils  of  intem 
perance,  the  feasibility  of  total  abstinence,  the 
utility  of  the  pledge,  and  the  necessity  of  immedi 
ate  action.  There  were  abundant  reasons  for  such 
a  movement  in  our  place.  We  had  eight  distilleries 
of  cider  brandy  in  full  blast,  from  twenty  to  thirty 
cider  mills,  half  a  dozen  taverns  all  selling  brandy 
and  whiskey  at  three  cents  a  glass.  All  the  stores 
kept  it  and  there  was  scarce  a  well-to-do  family  in  the 
township  but  boasted  a  sideboard  sacred  to  strong 
drink  and  wherein  were  stored  from  five  to  ten 
kinds  of  liquor,  catering  to  the  tastes  of  the  various 
visitors  who  called  upon  them.  No  sooner  had  a 
guest  arrived  and  been  fairly  seated  than  they  were 
set  forth  before  him  and  he  was  urged  and  expected 
to  partake  of  such  as  he  chose.  It  was  an  insult 
not  to  ask  him  to  drink.  It  was  scarcely  less  to 
refuse  to  drink.  Then  too,  cider,  worked  cider, 


CONVERSION.  35 

"hard  cider"  it  was  properly  called,  was  the  com 
mon  drink  of  the  people.  They  drank  it  at  the 
table,  they  drank  it  between  meals,  they  carried  it 
in  bottles  to  the  fields.  Liquor  ran  free  in  those 
days.  A  very  millennium  of  no  license!  I  think  if 
some  of  our  good  temperance  people,  who  execrate 
the  taxing  of  the  selling  business,  where  we  cannot 
carry  prohibition,  or  carrying  it  cannot  execute  the 
law,  if  they  had  lived  in  those  good  old  days,  when 
no  license  prevailed,  they  would  hold  as  I  do,  if  you 
cannot  stop  the  sale  entirely,  you  should  restrict 
it  and  cripple  it  all  you  can.  Was  it  strange  then 
that  drunkenness  was  in  every  other  family  nearly  ? 
Was  it  strange  then  that  my  mother  and  I  counted 
over  fifty  drunkards  within  the  circle  of  our  ac 
quaintance  ?  I  mean  people  who  occasionally 
staggered  and  talked  boosily  through  strong  drink? 
Was  it  strange,  that  in  one  winter  we  buried  ten 
men  who  had  died  with  delirium  tremens,  out  of 
a  population  of  2,000  people  ?  Well,  the  address 
aforesaid  was  able  and  was  heard  by  a  large  audi 
ence.  At  its  close  Squire  Foot,  my  Sabbath  school 
teacher,  arose  and  made  a  speech,  and  at  once 
drew  up  a  pledge,  signed  it,  and  presented  it  to 
the  audience.  This  was  the  first  hard  blow  the 
liquor  interest  received,  for  everybody  loved 
Squire  Foot.  He  had  won  his  way  to  the  public 
heart  by  his  irreproachable  character,  his  agree 
able  manners,  and  his  ready  and  often  unpaid 
advocacy  of  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  of  him  who 
had  no  helper.  While  not  a  few  signed  the  pledge, 


36  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

the  opposition  was  open,  outspoken,  contempt 
uous,  and  even  savage.  In  the  academy  which 
I  attended,  a  meeting  was  held  to  denounce  the 
Temperance  movement.  A  resolution  was  passed, 
that  if  any  student  should  sign  the  pledge,  he 
should  be  ridden  on  a  rail  through  the  principal 
street  of  the  town. 

The  academy  at  that  time  was  little  else  than  a 
Southern  school  in  a  Northern  town.  The  students 
were  largely  sons  of  Southern  planters,  or  from  the 
West  Indies.  These  young  bloods  dominated  the 
meeting  which  passed  the  resolutions  referred  to. 
I  well  knew  of  this  action  before  I  had  signed  the 
pledge.  But  not  having  the  fear  of  these  young 
hoodlums  before  my  eyes,  I  signed  it  on  the  first 
opportunity.  The  next  Monday  morning,  hasten 
ing  over  my  two-mile  walk,  I  had  reached  the 
academy  and  was  making  the  fire,  when  in  rushed 
seven  of  the  largest  students  bearing  a  rail!  Shout 
ing  simultaneously,  they  ordered  me  to  submit  to 
my  fate  of  being  ridden  on  a  rail !  For  some 
moments  I  stood  them  off,  and  asked  what  harm  I 
had  done  to  them  ?  I  said  the  school  would  open 
in  half  an  hour,  I  must  ring  the  bell,  make  the  fire, 
and  sweep  the  room.  If  they  must  do  it,  take  some 
other  time.  But  they  swore  great  oaths  that  they 
would  do  it  now.  I  saw  clearly,  I  must  either  fight 
them  with  something  more  than  words,  or  submit 
to  be  carried  on  a  rail  through  the  long  street! 
The  thought  was  terrible  !  to  be  thus  shamefully 
abused  by  these  young  mobocrats !  to  bs  hooted 


CONVERSION.  37 

at  by  the  inmates  of  each  tavern  I  passed  !  To  be 
followed  by  a  pack  of  boys  and  pelted  perhaps, 
with  mud  balls  and  stones !  to  be  sneered  at  by 
servant  girls,  prompt  to  please  their  masters,  leer 
ing  out  of  the  windows  and  shouting,  "Good  enough 
for  you,  young  temperance  fanatic !"  All  this  was 
rapidly  passing  in  my  mind,  as  for  a  time  I  kept 
them  at  bay,  deliberating  what  I  should  do.  There 
were  seven  against  me.  But  little  I  cared  for  that. 
I  knew  I  could  make  it  hot  for  them,  and  so  did 
they,  if  I  should  really  undertake  it.  But  I  had 
become  a  Christian,  and  they  counted  largely  on 
a  passive  submission.  I  too,  was  troubled  as  to 
what  was  my  duty  and  my  right.  Did  not  the 
Book  say  :  "Resist  not  evil,"  etc.,  etc.?  But  the 
thought  came  over  me,  "It  is  your  duty  to  put  this 
house  in  order  for  the  school !  The  powers  that 
be  require  it !  You  have  agreed  to  do  it  and 
you  have  no  right  to  let  these  hoodlums  prevent 
it  if  you  can  help  it !"  Instantly  my  duty  was 
clear.  It  was  to  thrust  them  out  of  my  way  as  I 
would  a  pack  of  dogs,  or  so  many  swine  in  the  way 
of  my  duty.  A  back-handed  stroke  sent  one 
assailant  against  a  bench  over  which  he  fell  heavily, 
striking  on  his  head.  Seizing  the  rail  I  thrust  it 
back  against  the  wall,  almost  crushing  out  the 
bowels  of  him  who  stood  at  that  end  and  held  it. 
This  put  two  out  of  the  fight.  The  rail  was 
dropped,  and  now  the  fight  commenced  in  earnest. 
How  long  it  continued  I  don't  know.  In  the 
course  of  it  I  was  pushed  against  the  brick  wail 


38  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

with  such  force  that  a  large  bunch  instantly  rose 
on  my  head.  Recovering  I  seized  a  large  iron 
inkstand,  before  which  my  opponents  shied  and 
fled  before  me  out  of  the  house  and  ran  in  every 
direction  !  But  though  left  alone  I  was  too  dizzy 
to  do  my  work.  Soon  one  of  the  teachers  arrived, 
and  seeing  my  swollen  head,  my  bloody  hands, 
the  rail  lying  on  the  floor,  the  seats  overturned, 
and  other  signs  of  a  big  melee,  thought  I  had  best 
go  to  the  doctor's.  But  I  went  directly  to  Squire 
Foot,  my  Sabbath  school  teacher,  and  for  once 
I  saw  him  brimful  of  wrath.  In  less  than  an  hour 
a  writ  of  arrest  for  assault  and  battery  was  in  the 
sheriff's  hands  and  a  posse  were  searching  private 
residences  and  hiding  places,  and  even  the  acad 
emy,  for  the  miscreants.  There  was  no  school  in 
the  academy  that  day,  and  there  was  some  excite 
ment  over  the  affray  in  our  usually  quiet  village. 
The  temperance  people  of  course  took  my  side. 
They  were  glad  the  hoodlums  were  defeated. 
Seven  of  them  tried  in  vain  to  ride  one  temperance 
boy  on  a  rail !  The  law  abiding  thought  the 
roughs  had  learned  a  lesson.  On  the  whole,  I  do 
not  think  the  cause  of  religion  suffered  at  all  from 
my  vigorous  use  of  the  strong  muscles  and  hard 
hands  the  Lord  had  given  me.  After  that  the 
students  treated  me  respectfully,  not  deeming  it 
quite  prudent  to  presume  very  largely  on  my  being 
a  non-resistant.  Subsequent  reflection  has  led  me 
to  the  conclusion,  that  the  words  of  Jesus,  which 
refer  to  this  subject,  really  enjoin,  as  the  general 


CONVERSION.  39 

rule  of  \iie,just  what  the  civil  laws  of  most  civilized 
nations  require,  to  wit — that  in  all  ordinary  cases 
of  collision  with  our  fellow  citizens,  we  are  not  to 
adjudge  the  case  ourselves,  or  mete  out  judgment 
and  justice  with  our  own  hands.  We  are  too  par 
tial,  too  much  personally  interested.  We  are  to 
suffer  the  wrong  and  leave  it  to  be  adjudicated  by 
the  impartial  tribunals  appointed  for  that  purpose. 
That  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule  all  admit, 
but  neither  the  Bible  nor  the  civil  law  specify  just 
what  they  are.  Before  the  trial  came  off  my  assail 
ants  settled  with  me,  giving  me  quite  a  bonus  to 
do  so,  and  paying  all  the  costs. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

PHILLIPS    ACADEMY,    ANDOVER. 

The  following  spring,  under  the  advice  of  my 
pastor,  I  went  to  Phillips  Academy,  Andover, 
Mass.  When  I  arrived  there  I  had  but  seven  dol 
lars  in  my  pocket.  Out  of  this  I  had  to  pay  a  five 
dollar  entrance  fee ;  this  left  me  but  two  dollars 
with  which  to  commence  a  two  years'  course  of 
study  in  a  place  where  I  knew  not  a  soul,  and 
where  I  had  no  friend  save  the  Lord.  But  I  was 
kindly  received  and  trusted,  even  to  my  board  in 
the  commons.  Work  fell  into  my  hands  immedi 
ately,  such  as  sawing  wood,  gardening,  well-dig 
ging,  chopping  wood,  etc.  These  jobs  I  did 
between  school  hours,  on  Saturdays  and  in  vaca 
tions.  After  a  couple  of  terms  friends  began  to 
appear  to  help  me.  The  Education  Society  gave  me 
$60  a  year.  The  church  in  my  native  town  hear 
ing  a  good  report  from  my  teachers,  of  my  life 
and  progress,  voted  me  an  annual  aid  of  $50.  I 
was  progressing  finely  and  had  nearly  completed 
my  preparation  for  college  when  an  event  oc 
curred  which  for  a  time  blasted  all  my  hopes  and 
prospects  of  entering  college  the  following  autumn, 
at  least.  This  was. 

(40) 


PHILLIPS  ACADEMY,  ANDOVER.  4! 

THE    GREAT  ANTI-SLAVERY   REVIVAL. 

This  occurred  in  the  years  1834-' 5.  It  swept 
over  the  United  States  and  was  especially  power 
ful  in  the  schools  of  learning,  the  colleges  and 
seminaries,  where  were  gathered  the  young  men 
who  were  soon  to  go  forth  and  mold  public  opin 
ion  and  prepare  the  nation  for  the  coming  conflict, 
that  battle  of  Armageddon  in  which  slavery  was  to 
be  overthrown,  and  cast  into  the  bottomless  pit. 
It  was  in  that  revival  that  I  was  converted  to  the 
doctrine  of  immediate  emancipation,  and  this  is 
how  it  was  brought  about :  The  literary  society 
in  the  academy  to  which  I  belonged  had  selected 
as  a  question  for  discussion,  this :  "Is  the  Ameri 
can  Colonization  Society  competent  to  deal  with 
the  matter  of  American  Slavery  ?"  I  was  appointed 
to  speak  on  the  affirmative,  one  Horace  Eaton  on 
the  negative.  Eaton  had  the  name  of  being  a 
rabid  Abolitionist,  a  "fanatic  "as  such  were  then 
called.  The  Colonization  Society,  presided  over 
by  Hon.  Henry  Clay,  was  immensely  popular, 
North  and  South,  and  nowhere  more  so  than  in  the 
churches  and  among  the  ministers.  It  was  Janus 
faced,  it  looked  in  two  opposite  directions.  In 
the  Northern  States  it  was  looked  upon  as  the  great 
antidote  for  the  evil  of  slavery.  It  was  to  estab 
lish  a  colony  of  freed  men  on  the  coast  of  Liberia, 
Africa,  and  there  it  was  to  transport  black  people,  so 
fast  as  they  could  be  freed,  and  educate  and  Chris 
tianize  them.  More  and  more  were  to  be  trans- 


42  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

ported,  year  by  year,  till  by  and  by  every  negro 
should  be  restored  to  Africa,  and  that  country  was 
to  be  civilized  and  evangelized.  In  the  slave 
States  it  was  regarded  a  happy  scheme  for  getting 
rid  of  black  men  who  were  free,  and  carrying  them 
out  of  sight  of  their  brethren  in  bonds  ;  no  more  to 
incite  the  slave  to  run  away  or  to  shield  and  shel 
ter  him  after  he  had  fled.  My  honored  pastor  was 
a  strong  advocate  of  colonization,  that  is  of  its 
Northern  phase.  He  had  little  patience  with  the 
little  Abolition  clique,  which  just  then  was  begin- 
ing  to  disturb  the  nation's  slumber,  over  the  crater 
of  slavery.  I  regarded  myself  as  a  colonizationist, 
but  I  hated  slavery.  The  stories  my  father  had  told 
of  slave  hunts  with  hounds  and  horses,  and  shot  guns 
and  pistols  ;  the  scenes  of  slave  auctions  and  whip 
pings  and  brandings;  though  they  seemed  necessary 
to  him,  and  in  the  main  right,  they  grated  harshly 
on  my  ear.  Indignantly  I  asked  "What  for?"  and 
denounced  the  cruelty,  and  claimed  the  slave  had 
as  good  a  right  to  liberty  as  his  master.  No  cas 
uistry  had  yet  been  allowed  to  impose  on  my  com 
mon  sense,  or  override  my  spontaneous  sense  of 
justice.  Well,  such  was  the  question  we  were  to 
discuss.  I  was  expected  to  make  a  good  showing 
for  the  popular  side,  colonization.  Documents 
were  at  hand  and  I  thought  I  made  a  fair  speech, 
but  Eaton  handled  my  arguments  without  gloves. 
He  was  not  a  genial  speaker,  but  his  logic  was  to 
my  mind  quite  forcible.  I  replied  to  him  and  was 
applauded,  the  sympathies  were  all  on  my  side, 


PHILLIPS  ACADEMY,   ANDOVER.  43 

but  I  went  home  dissatisfied.  The  debate  was 
adjourned  over  to  the  next  week,  and  I  was  to 
open  it  on  that  evening.  During  the  week  I  was 
greatly  perplexed  in  my  endeavor  to  answer  Eaton, 
and  sustain  colonization.  Brief  after  brief  I  con 
structed  and  then  threw  away.  At  last  I  began 
to  feel  that  I  was  righting  against  the  truth.  I 
knelt  and  asked  the  Lord  to  show  me  the  truth, 
and  promised  I  would  receive  it  and  advocate  it 
whatever  it  might  cost.  Within  a  few  hours  all 
was  clear,  the  fallacy  of  the  colonization  scheme, 
and  the  duty  of  immediate  emancipation.  Then 
there  passed  before  me  the  cost  of  the  step  I  had 
taken,  the  loss  of  friends,  of  reputation,  of  pecuni 
ary  helps,  perhaps  the  necessity  of  giving  up  fur 
ther  study,  possibly  the  ministry,  too,  to  which  I 
was  looking  forward.  What  else  the  step  involved, 
who  could  tell !  Was  not  Rev.  Chas.  Torry,  a  Con 
gregational  minister,  pining  away  in  a  Maryland 
prison  because  he  was  an  Abolitionist,  his  right 
hand  branded  with  the  letters  S.  S. — slave  stealer 
— or  as  his  friends  translated  them,  S.  S. — sinner 
saved?  Were  not  $50,000  offered  for  the  head  of 
Garrison  by  the  legislature  of  South  Carolina? 
Did  not  a  pro-slavery  mob  control,  not  only  every 
Southern  State,  but  Boston  itself  ?  What  else  there 
was  in  store  for  Abolitionists,  who  could  tell. 
Well !  Be  it  so.  I  was  no  better  than  the  martyrs ; 
why  should  I  be  exempt  from  suffering  for  the 
truth's  sake  ?  I  kept  my  counsels.  The  evening 
for  reopening  the  discussion  came  on.  What  a 


44  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

pressure  was  on  me !  I  opened  the  debate  and 
took  up  Mr.  Eaton's  argument  No.  i,  examined  it 
carefully,  and  at  length,  as  I  laid  it  down,  said: 
"  Candor  compels  me  to  confess  that,  so  far  as  I 
can  see,  that  argument  is  a  good  one,  and  I  have 
no  heart  to  dispute  it."  Eaton  left  his  seat  and 
came  and  sat  down  before  me,  and  looked  me  fully 
in  the  face.  I  then  took  up  argument  No.  2, 
reviewed  and  accepted  that  also.  Eaton's  eyes 
brightened  and  he  moved  a  little  nearer.  I  then 
reviewed  some  of  my  own  arguments  of  the  even 
ing  previous,  and  snowed  their  fallacy,  and  how 
unsatisfactory  they  were.  I  then  laid  down  my 
brief  and  told  to  my  astonished  schoolmates  the 
story  of  my  perplexity  during  the  week,  my  prayer 
for  light,  my  promise  to  the  Lord  to  follow  the 
light,  to  confess  it,  to  stand  by  it  at  any  cost,  how 
ever  great.  How  also,  thereupon,  the  light  came 
in,  and  I  saw  the  matter  as  I  never  saw  it  before. 
I  then  announced  myself  an  Abolitionist,  with  all 
the  losses  of  good  name  and  friends  it  might  imply. 
Eaton  could  stand  it  no  longer ;  springing  to  his 
feet,  he  embraced  me  and  cried  out,  "  Thank  God 
for  an  honest  man  !" 

I  had  many  friends  in  the  institution,  and  they 
did  not  desert  me.  Very  candidly  they  conversed 
with  me ;  one  after  another  came  over  to  our  views, 
till,  within  two  or  three  months,  a  majority  of  our 
200  students  in  the  academy  preparing  for  college, 
more  than  one-half,  were  avowed  Abolitionists ! 
Meanwhile  our  beloved  instructors  and  the  pro- 


PHILLIPS  ACADEMY,  ANDOVER.  45 

fessors  in  the  Theological  Seminary  were  all  hard 
at  work  endeavoring  to  suppress  the  rising  senti 
ments  of  hostility  to  American  slavery.  But  the 
Lord  was  in  the  movement,  and  how  could  they 
resist  its  onward  course?  At  this  juncture,  George 
Thompson,  the  famous  English  anti-slavery  orator, 
visited  Andover.  He  was  advertised  to  lecture 
in  the  Methodist  Church.  I  think  no  other  church 
could  be  secured  for  him.  A  mob  had  just  driven 
him  from  Boston,  and  wherever  he  went  the  hand 
of  violence  was  raised  against  him.  It  was  hoped 
he  could  be  quietly  heard  in  Andover.  Was  it  not 
the  school  of  the  Prophets  and  noted  for  its  morality 
and  for  its  religious  spirit  ?  So  Thompson  came, 
but,  as  with  Paul,  bonds  and  affliction  awaited  him 
there.  A  railroad  was  being  built  through  the 
place.  The  contractor  was  a  rough  pro-slavery 
character,  and  not  a  few  roughs  were  in  his 
employ.  It  was  boldly  given  out  that  a  mob 
would  break  up  the  meeting  and  probably  tar  and 
feather  Mr.  Thompson.  The  anti-slavery  students 
got  wind  of  it,  and  armed  with  heavy  hickory 
clubs,  which  they  used  as  staves,  they  were  at  the 
chapel  as  soon  as  the  doors  were  opened  and  took 
possession  of  a  couple  of  tier  of  front  seats,  which 
formed  nearly  a  semicircle  around  the  pulpit.  As 
the  house  filled  up  the  ushers  besought  us  to 
vacate  them  and  give  place  to  ladies,  but  we  knew 
our  business,  and  not  one  of  us  could  be  ousted. 
There  were  about  fifty  of  us,  nearly  all  over 
twenty,  the  most  of  us  farmers'  sons,  and  with  our 


46  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

long  staves  or  clubs  standing  erect  by  our  sides,  I 
imagine  the  mobocratic  portion  of  the  audience 
studied  us  rather  carefully.  The  speech  was  surpas 
singly  eloquent.  1  remember  some  of  its  passages, 
one  of  them,  his  apostrophe  to  America,  was  very 
striking ;  it  began  with  :  "  America !  America ! 
Thou  art  the  anointed  cherub,  God's  darling 
ch'ild !  Apart  from  the  nations  God  hath  set  thee ! 
etc."  It  fairly  raised  the  audience  to  its  feet.  The 
lecture  was  two  hours  long.  When  it  closed,  in  an 
instant  every  light  was  blown  out,  and  the  mob 
rushed  for  the  pulpit.  But  those  fifty  students 
closed  around  Thompson  and  Wilson  the  Metho 
dist  minister,  in  phalanx  so  compact,  and  with  clubs 
brandished  so  threateningly  that  the  mob  kept 
at  respectful  distance  and  finally  dispersed.  We 
saw  Wilson  and  Thompson  safe  at  home.  After 
consultation  it  was  agreed  that  six  should  stay 
down  town  (South  Parish)  and  patrol  the  streets 
till  morning1.  One  should  take  his  station  half 
way  up  the  hill  toward  the  Seminary,  another 
should  take  his  stand  at  the  corner  leading 
to  the  dormitories  of  the  classical  school,  the 
rest  should  retire  to  their  rooms  and  sleep 
with  their  clothes  on,  ready  for  emergencies. 
I  was  one  of  the  six  who  staid  down  town.  I  and 
my  companion  went  into  a  vacant  lot  and  con 
cealed  ourselves.  After  an  hour  or  so  a  signal 
whistle  was  blown  in  a  distant  part  of  the  town. 
It  was  answered  by  another,  and  then  by  a  third 
close  by  us.  We  ^ent  for  him  with  all  speed,  but 


PHILLIPS  ACADEMY,   ANDOVER.  47 

he  ran  like  a  deer  and  we  lost  him.  We  sounded 
the  alarm  !  It  was  taken  up  by  the  man  half  way 
up  the  hill,  he  sent  it  to  the  man  at  the  corner,  and 
he  aroused  the  dormitories.  Our  squad  of  six 
guards  rushed  for  Wilson's  house  and  held  at 
bay  the  gathering  mob.  Scarcely  had  we  got 
there  before  we  heard  the  tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of 
a  hundred  students  dashing  down  Andover  hill  at 
a  two-forty  pace.  And  it  sounded  out  on  the  still 
hour  of  night  like  the  coming  of  a  regiment  of 
cavalry.  The  mob,  most  of  whom  were  Irish, 
listened  a  moment,  then  broke  and  fled  in  every 
direction.  Thus  was  Andover  saved  from  a  crime 
against  one  of  the  noblest  of  men,  which  long  years 
of  penance  could  scarce  have  washed  away. 

ORGANIZING  AN  ANTI-SLAVERY   SOCIETY. 

Up  to  this  time  we  had  not  organized  an  Anti- 
Slavery  Society.  Fearing  that  we  should  do  so, 
the  faculty  of  the  United  Seminaries  passed  a  reg 
ulation  which  read  like  this :  "No  student  shall 
join  any  society  in  the  town  of  Andover  without 
leave  of  the  principal  of  the  institution  with  which 
he  is  connected."  Alas  !  "The  best  laid  schemes 
of  mice  and  men  aft  gang  aglee !"  So  it  was  in 
this  case.  A  student  whose -room  adjoined  that 
in  which  the  faculties  met  and  discussed  the 
matter,  overheard  enough  to  divine  what  was  on 
the  tapis.  He  at  once  informed  us  of  what  was 
up.  In  half  an  hour  all  the  principal  anti-slavery 
students  were  gathered  in  the  Methodist  chapel 


48  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  then  and  there  formed  an  Abolition  society, 
chose  officers,  etc.,  and  adjourned  !  The  following 
Monday  morning  at  prayers  we  beheld  marshaled 
on  the  platform  and  around  the  desk,  our  four 
principal  professors.  Usually  only  one  was  pres 
ent.  There  was  something  ominous  in  the  air ! 
Principal  Johnson's  voice  was  more  tremulous  than 
was  usual.  Professor  McLane's  face  was  unusually 
red  and  flushed.  Professor  Taylor's  eyes  were 
riveted  to  the  floor,  while  Professor  Sanborn  sat 
uneasy  and  restless  in  his  chair  of  state.  Prayers 
over,  Principal  Johnson,  in  agitated  tones,  read  the 
stern  decree  and  then  looked  over  the  field  to  mark 
the  effect  of  the  shot !  The  other  teachers  also 
now  looked  up  and  took  observations.  But  not  a 
wing  seemed  broken,  not  a  feather  ruffled  !  We 
all  took  it  serenely  and  it  was  noted  that  the  anti- 
slavery  leaders  looked  cross- wise  at  each  other  and 
smiled.  What  could  it  mean?  After  the  students 
had  gone  to  their  rooms  for  recitations,  or  to  the 
dormitories  for  study,  Principal  Johnson  called 
up  one  Peter  T.  Woodbury,  nephew  of  Hon.  Levi 
Woodbury  of  New  Hampshire  fame,  and  asked  in 
a  confidential  tone  :  "Peter!  what  did  it  mean — 
those  complacent  smiles  and  glances  between  the 
Abolitionists  when  the  new  regulation  was  read?" 
"Why,"  said  Peter  brusquely,  "they  have  stolen  the 
march  on  you  !  They  formed  a  society  last  Satur 
day  night  and  all  the  Abolitionists  joined  it !"  The 
color  left  Mr.  Johnson's  face.  Recovering  himself, 
he  said  plaintively  :  "You  have  not  joined,  have 


PHILLIPS   ACADEMY,   ANDOVER.  49 

you  Peter  ?"  "  Yes  Sir!"  said  Peter.  This  was  a 
stunner.  The  next  effort  was  to  induce  the  signers 
to  withdraw  .their  names,  but  without  an  instance 
of  success.  These  young  Abolitionists  had  been 
converted  to  stay.  They  believed  in  saints'  per 
severance  and  I  have  never  yet  heard  of  the  apos- 
tacy  of  one  of  them,  or  even  of  their  temporary 
falling  from  grace.  Our  professors,  finding  that 
neither  coaxing  nor  flattery  nor  threatenings  would 
do,  proceeded  to  sterner  measures.  I  was  sum 
moned  before  the  Faculty  to  answer  to  the  charge 
of  combining  with  others,  to  destroy  the  good 
name  of  the  academy  and  bring  it  into  reproach 
before  the  public,  etc.,  etc.  Instead  ol  standing 
on  the  defensive,  I  faced  the  music.  I  boldly 
charged  upon  ,them  the  sin  of  seeking  to  shield 
from  exposure  and  condemnation,  the  great  crime 
of  slavery,  of  exerting  themselves  to  make  cowards 
and  time-servers  of  the  young  men  who  were  soon 
to  go  forth  to  help  form  and  reform  the  opinions 
of  mankind.  I  remember  telling  them  if  we  were 
cowards  here  we  would  be  cowards  in  college, 
cowards  in  the  seminary  and  cowards  in  the  min 
istry  !  In  fact,  during  that  interview  I  think  they 
were  in  the  prisoners'  box  quite  as  much  as  I  was. 
At  one  time  they  actually  all  laughed  aloud  at  the 
ridiculous  turn  the  trial  had  taken.  But  they  had 
resolved  to  make  an  example  of  me,  and  so  they 
cast  me  out.  No  specific  charges  were  voted  as 
sustained.  I  was  simply  voted  no  longer  a  member 
of  Phillips'  academy,  and  to  have  no  further  right 


5O  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

to  a  room  or  place  in  the  recitation  rooms.  One 
other  was  dismissed  with  me.  At  once  a  meeting 
of  the  anti-slavery  students  was  called,  a  remon 
strance  was  gotten  up  and  published.  It  was 
signed  by  some  sixty  students,  all  of  whom  left  the 
institution  without  diplomas  or  other  testimonials 
of  character  or  scholarship.  No  sooner  was  I  turned 
out  of  the  academy  than  Mr.  McLane  wrote  my 
pastor  in  Cheshire.  He  read  the  letter  to  the 
church  and  they  voted  not  to  help  me  any  more. 
The  letter  from  my  pastor  to  me,  though  quite 
severe,  was  in  parts  very  tender  and  parental. 
He  regarded  the  anti-slavery  revival  as  little  better 
than  a  blast  from  the  bottomless  pit.  I  remember 
one  sentence  he  used ;  "Oh,  that  God  would  hide 
you  in  his  pavillion  till  this  storm  is  overpast." 
Dear  man  !  he  was  sadly  mistaken !  That  strong 
wind  and  "the  rushing  mighty  wind"  of  the  day  of 
Pentecost  come  from  the  same  quarter.  Well,  he 
sees  it  now  and  rejoices  with  us  in  the  great  deliv 
erance  from  America's  chiefest  curse.  My  reply 
to  him  was  said  to  be  rather  spirited.  I  kept  no 
copy  of  it,  but  one  who  was  present  when  it  was 
received  and  heard  it  read  told  me  that  when  the 
good  pastor  came  to  a  place  where  I  wrote,  "Money 
given  by  a  church  on  condition  of  keeping  silence 
about  slavery  is  not  fit  to  buy  a  potter's  field  with," 
he  laughed  heartily  and  said:  "He  is  plucky !  is 
he  not?"  The  Education  Society  also  withdrew 
its  aid  and  I  was  now  cast  upon  my  own  resources 
again. 


PHILLIPS  ACADEMY,   ANDOVER.  $1 

But  I  had  two  hands,  the  consciousness  of  being 
on  the  right  side  and  an  abiding  faith  that  the 
Lord  would  in  some  way  bring  me  out  of  all  my 
troubles.  I  at  once  sold  my  books,  paid  my  debts 
and  then  went  out  among  the  farmers  seeking  work. 
But  the  brand  of  "fanatic"  was  upon  me  and  people 
were  reluctant  to  employ  me.  But  a  rough  out 
spoken  man  by  name  of  Holt  said  he  did  not  think 
much  of  student  farmers,  but  I  looked  stout  and 
he  would  give  me  a  trial.  He  took  me  to  a  meadow 
to  mow  grass  with  him.  Before  noon  he  quit, 
saying  he  was  not  going  to  mow  while  he  had  so 
good  a  hand.  He  took  quite  a  fancy  to  me  and 
much  he  talked  in  the  stores  and  taverns  about  his 
expelled  student,  his  strength  and  skill  in  farming. 
Friends  began  to  gather  around  me.  Two  or 
three  lawyers  offered  to  lend  me  money  if  I  would 
study  law.  But  I  told  them  if  I  plead  any  law  it 
would  be  the  law  of  God,  that  really  I  had  no 
heart  for  anything  else. 

About  this  time  I  received  an  invitation  from 
one  Kimball  of  Maine,  to  come  to  his  school.  But 
just  as  I  was  about  to  start  word  was  received 
that  an  anti- Abolition  mob  had  broken  up  his  school. 
Coming  home  from  the  field  one  evening,  Mr. 
Holt  said :  "There  has  been  a  man  to  see  you 
to-day,  who  is  an  Abolitionist  like  you  and  he  wants 
to  see  you  and  if  he  takes  a  liking  to  you,  you  will 
not  lack  for  money  to  go  on  with  your  studies, 
for  he  is  rich  and  liberal.  His  name  is  John  Smith 
— money  Smith  we  call  him.  He  is  the  chief  owner 


52  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

of  Fry  village  and  the  factory  there.  He  will  call 
this  evening."  Well!  he  did  call  and  wished  to 
hear  the  story  of  my  expulsion.  I  narrated  it  to 
him.  He  asked  me  many  questions  and  several 
times  used  his  handkerchief  freely,  wiping  his  eyes. 
He  wished  me  to  call  the  next  day  at  his  office,  he 
wished  to  introduce  me  to  his  partners.  I  went 
and  was  there  put  through  a  course  of  questions 
which  showed  they  did  not  mean  to  be  imposed 
upon.  I  was  asked  to  call  again  some  days  after. 
They  went  after  the  seminary  folks  and  found  my 
statements  were  true.  When  I  called  again  they 
only  asked  where  I  wished  to  take  my  College 
course.  I  preferred  Oberlin,  the  new  anti-slavery 
institution  in  Ohio,  and  where  I  could  do  something 
to  pay  my  way.  How  much  would  I  need  to  start 
with?  One  hundred  dollars.  They  gave  me  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  and  I  gave  them  my  note.  It 
was  payable  only  after  I  had  finished  my  course 
of  studies,  and  not  then  in  case  I  entered  the  min 
istry.  What  a  burden  here  rolled  off  my  back ! 
Joyfully  I  retraced  my  steps  to  Mr.  Holt's,  packed 
my  trunk  and  the  next  day  was  off  for  Oberlin. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OBERLIN   COLLEGE. 

From  Andover  I  took  stage  for  Troy,  New 
York  ;  from  Troy  to  Buffalo,  by  canal ;  from  Buf 
falo  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  by  steamboat ;  from  Cleve 
land  to  Elyria,  by  stage,  and  thence  to  Oberlin,  ten 
miles,  on  foot  through  a  dense  forest.  How  new, 
how  wild,  how  weird  and  how  chimerical  the  new 
enterprise  looked,  as  I  emerged  from  the  dense, 
dark  forest  into  the  little  clearing.  The  entire 
opening  was  scarce  half  a  mile  square,  and  that 
full  of  stumps,  logs,  fallen  trees,  fireweed  and 
smoke.  Yet  there  were  men  there,  and  women  too. 
Some  of  the  former  were  chopping  down  great 
trees,  some  with  oxen  hauling  logs  together  to 
burn,  some  building  log  houses,  some  sowing 
grain  and  endeavoring  to  harrow  it  in,  despite  the 
roots  and  stumps.  Ever  and  anon  a  tinkling  bell 
called  quite  a  flock  of  young  men  and  women  from 
their  rooms  to  recitation,  and  sent  as  many  back 
from  recitation  to  study.  For  some  hours  I  wan- 
dered  round  the  clearing  as  a  stranger  taking  in 
the  situation.  But  I  observed  that  every  one  was 
cheerful  and  hopeful,  and  unusually  polite  to 
strangers.  Though  not  a  soul  knew  me  in  the  place, 
save  one,  no  one  passed  me  without  a  gentle  bow 

(53) 


54  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  a  kindly  look,  which  seemed  to  say,  "  Call 
upon  me  if  I  can  help  you."  A  stranger  to  whom 
I  introduced  myself  invited  me  to  commons  as  the 
supper  bell  rang,  and  I  went.  It  was  a  very  plain 
meal;  boiled  potatoes,  milk  gravy,  wheat  bread 
and  brown  bread  and  butter,  was  about  all  there 
was  of  it.  But  there  was  no  complaint,  no  dissat 
isfied  looks  and  no  criticisms.  Nearly  all  seemed 
happy  and  even  thankful,  and  regarded  themselves 
as  privileged  beyond  the  common  walks  even  of 
the  student's  life.  And  indeed  they  were,  for  God, 
who  from  the  first  set  the  seal  of  his  love  upon 
Oberlin,  was  there,  diffusing  peace  and  joy  and 
holy  love  in  nearly  every  heart.  The  following  day 
I  introduced  myself  to  President  Mahan  and  told 
him  I  came  from  Andover  and  wished  to  enter 
college.  A  Faculty  meeting  was  called  and  I  pre 
sented  myself.  My  papers  were  called  for.  I  had 
none.  Why  ?  I  told  the  story  of  my  expulsion  on 
account  of  my  anti-slavery  views  and  action. 
Prof.  Dascomb,  whose  relative  was  principal  of 
the  English  school  at  Andover,  expressed  doubt 
of  the  truth  of  my  statements.  This  nettled  me 
somewhat,  so  I  went  farther  and  stated  other 
things  against  his  relative,  more  detrimental  than 
the  first.  Dr.  Dascomb  was  instructed  to  write 
to  Andover  and  ask  why  my  papers  were  with 
held.  Meanwhile  I  was  allowed  to  enter  the  Fresh 
man  class,  conditionally.  No  answer  was  returned 
to  Dr.  Dascomb's  letter.  He  wrote  again  and  the 
reply  came  that  they  had  no  specific  charges  to 


OBERLIN   COLLEGE.  55 

make  against  the  young  man,  and  if  Oberlin  could 
make  a  useful  man  of  him  they  should  be  glad  of 
it.  So  I  was  received  into  college.  The  accom 
modations,  so  far  as  rooms  were  concerned,  were, 
at  the  first,  very  plain  and  often  quite  uncomfor 
table.  My  room  was,  at  the  first,  what  might  be 
called  the  attic  or  garret  of  a  woodshed.  It  was  a 
rough,  one-story  shed.  Some  joists  were  laid 
across  overhead,  and  rough  slabs  were  laid  across 
them  ;  the  roof  made  the  ceiling  on  two  sides,  and 
some  thin  factory  cloth  partitioned  me  off  from 
another's  claim.  I  could  stand  upright  in  the  mid 
dle.  There  it  was  that  I  at  the  first  set  up  my 
banners,  and  there  I  commenced  my  student  life 
at  Oberlin.  But  I  was  happy,  for  I  was  free,  and 
literally  I  sang : 

"  Oh,  give  me  but  a  hollow  tree, 
A  crust  of  bread  and  liberty." 

Largely  I  supported  myself  by  chopping  wood, 
clearing  land  and  teaching  school.  One  winter  I 
acted  as  agent  for  the  Cuyahoga  County  Bible  So 
ciety.  Meanwhile  I  kept  up  a  correspondence 
with  Messrs.  Smith  &  Dove  of  Andover,  and  oc 
casionally  received  from  them  fifty  dollars. 

A  NEW    PHASE   OF   CHRISTIAN   LIFE. 

During  the  latter  part  of  my  Sophomore  year, 
I  passed  through  a  phase  of  religious  experience, 
whose  influence  has  followed  me  down  to  the  pres 
ent  time,  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century.  In 


56  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

my  early  Christian  life,  such  were  my  besetments, 
my  natural  impulses,  sinward,  and  the  great  obsta 
cles  in  my  way,  that  I  felt  that  none  could  help  me 
but  the  Lord  ;  and  on  Him  I  leaned,  and  to  Him 
I  looked  daily  and  hourly,  for  help.  Nor  did  I 
look  in  vain.  I  was  wonderfully  upheld.  I  was 
divinely  assisted.  The  life  I  lived  was  by  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God.  But  as  I  grew  in  experience  and 
knowledge,  I  began,  gradually,  to  lose  my  sense 
of  dependence  on  God,  and  unconsciously  to  lean  on 
my  power  of  will,  my  habits  and  my  surround 
ings.  This  was  particularly  true  when  I  went  to 
Andover.  Was  it  not  famous  as  a  school  of  the 
Prophets?  Were  not  moral  and  religious  princi 
ples  predominant  there?  Two-thirds  of  my  class 
mates  were  members  of  the  church ;  one-half  were 
preparing  for  the  ministry,  and  several  had  the 
missionary  field  in  view  !  "  Surely,"  said  I,  "  here 
I  shall  live  a  devoted  and  holy  life ;  the  circum 
stances  are  so  favorable  /" 

hus  I  began,  insensibly,  to  lean  upon  my  sur 
roundings,  and  not  upon  Christ !  The  result  was 
immediate  stumbling  and  falling  at  almost  every 
obstacle.  Old  sins,  which  I  had  fancied  were 
slain,  revived  again.  Like  the  tribes  of  Canaan, 
which  Israel  fancied  they  had  suppressed  forever 
— soon  after  they  went  over  Jordan — they  ap 
peared  again  on  the  scene,  and  regained  their  lost 
territory.  Again  and  again  I  rallied  against  them 
— resolved  and  re-resolved,  wrote  out  my  resolu 
tions,  like  Edwards;  took  solemn  oaths  in  relation 


OBERLIN  COLLEGE.  57 

to  them  ;  tried  the  virtue  of  fastings ;  read  reli 
gious  biographies  and  other  religious  works,  and 
did  other  things,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  More  and 
more  I  fell  under  the  power  of  sin  ;  more  and 
more  I  realized  I  was  the  slave  of  sin.  For  nearly 
two  years  I  coursed  up  and  down  in  the  seventh 
chapter  of  Romans.  Stopping  ever  and  anon,  and 
looking  up  to  heaven  I  cried  out,  "  Oh  !  wretched 
man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  body 
of  death  ?  "  My  temper,  naturally  serene,  now  be 
came  chafed  and  irritated.  I  was  dissatisfied  with 
everybody,  and  most  of  all,  with  myself.  In  this 
state  of  mind  I  went  to  Oberlin,  and  fondly  hoped 
that  the  preaching  of  Finney  and  Mahan  would 
bring  me  relief.  So  far  from  this,  those  wondrous 
sermons  only  raised  my  ideal  of  the  life  I  ought 
to  live,  but  left  my  real  life  more  unsatisfactory 
than  ever. 

During  the  first  part  of  my  Sophomore  year  my 
mental  distress  was  such  that  I  sometimes  wished 
I  had  never  been  born.  Jn  one  of  our  society  de 
bates  I  used  language  toward  my  opponent  which 
was  harsh  and  sarcastic.  He  felt  it  keenly,  for  we 
had  always  been  on  friendly  terms.  And  I  too, 
charged  it  to  the  account  of  a  temper,  which  of 
late,  had  become  ungovernable. 

After  the  debate  1  retired  sullenly  to  my  room 
and  taking  from  my  desk  my  book  of  Resolutions, 
I  wrote  with  a  heavy  hand  two  resolutions  like 
these : 

"  Resolved,  That  for  one  day  I  will  set  a  double 


$8  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER.. 

guard  at  the  door  of  my  lips,  and  that  I  will  thor 
oughly  test  my  ability  to  live  twenty-four  hours 
without  uttering  one  angry  word. 

"  Resolved,  Further,  That  should  I  find  myself 
unable  to  keep  so  simple  a  resolution,  directed 
against  a  single  sin,  then  I  will  give  up  the  strug 
gle  and  drift  with  the  tide." 

As  I  finished  this  sentence,  there  was  a  knock 
at  my  door,  and  there  entered  the  student  I  had 
abused  by  those  sharp  words.  He  expostulated 
with  me  for  the  sharp  words  I  had  used  in  the  de 
bate  ;  said  he  did  not  expect  them  from  me.  I 
asked,  in  sarcastic  tones,  did  he  ever  know  a  man 
worsted  in  a  debate,  who  thought  he  had  been  well 
treated.  Alas !  I  saw  in  an  instant  I  had  already 
broken  the  resolution  I  had  just  written! 

I  was  standing  at  my  desk,  and  my  hand  was 
yet  between  the  leaves  of  the  book  to  keep  the 
freshly  written  words  from  blotting.  I  now  drew 
it  out.  My  friend  could  get  nothing  more  out  of 
me  and  left  me.  When  he  had  gone,  I  opened  the 
book  and  lo !  the  opposite  page  was  blotted!  I  threw 
down  the  book,  saying,  "  Such  resolutions  may 
have  helped  Edwards,  but  with  me  they  are  of  no 
account.  They  are  broken  reeds  on  which  if  one 
leans,  it  pierces  his  hand,  and  I  will  rely  on  them 
no  more." 

I  omitted  my  usual  evening  prayer  that  night, 
and  I  lay  down  well  nigh  in  despair.  The  next 
morning  I  rose  up  restless  and  reckless.  My  les 
sons  were  imperfectly  prepared  and  carelessly  re- 


OBERLIN  COLLEGE.  59 

cited.  My  patient  instructors  at  length  reproved 
me,  but  I  answered  back  sullenly,  defiantly.  I  was 
called  before  the  Faculty  ;  they  talked  with  me,  so 
kindly,  but  I  gave  them  no  promises  of  doing  bet 
ter.  If  they  wished  to  expel  me  from  college,  do 
it,  I  did  not  care  how  soon.  Why  was  I  so  reck 
less?  Because  I  was  the  servant  of  sin.  Satan 
was  my  master ;  what  else  could  befall  me,  or  what 
worse  ?  Seeing  how  it  was  with  me,  they  kindly 
resolved  to  bear  with  me,  assured,  as  they  after 
ward  said,  that  God  would  ultimately  lead  me  out 
and  set  my  feet  in  a  large  place.  He  did  so,  and 
thus  it  came  about: 

I  began  now  to  reason  from  a  new  standpoint, 
and  I  said,  "  The  man  who  is  the  slave  of  sin,  has 
no  business  to  preach  the  gospel.  Unto  the 
wicked,  God  said,  What  hast  thou  to  do  to  declare 
my  statutes  ?  I  cannot  point  men  to  Christ  as  a 
Saviour,  when  he  is  no  Saviour  to  me.  Should  I 
do  so,  and  they  should  turn  to  me  and  ask,  *  Does 
ye  save  you  from  sinning?  '  and  I  said  '  No,'  what 
faith  would  they  have  in  me  or  my  message? 
No;  the  idea  of  preaching  must  be  abandoned. 

"  But  if  unfit  to  preach,  clanking,  as  you  do, 
the  fetters  of  sinful  habits,  are  you  fit  to  go  in  with 
God's  free  peeple  and  sit  down  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord  ?  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  act  of  eating 
that  bread  and  drinking  of  that  cup  ?  Is  it  not  a 
public  profession  that  your  spirit  is  fed  and  made 
strong  by  Christ,  and  that  you  are  in  covenant 
with  Him  ?  But  you  are  not  made  strong  morally 


60  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

by  Christ.  There  is  no  evidence  of  his  being  in 
covenant  with  you.  Your  profession  at  the  table 
is  a  false  one,  and  you  have  no  business  there. 

"  Well,  what  of  membership  in  the  church  ? 
Your  unhappy  life,  your  inconsistencies,  your 
downward  tendencies  will  make  your  church  mem 
bership  a  dishonor  to  the  church  and  void  of  ben 
efit  to  you."  I  must  leave  the  church. 

"  Well,  what  of  religious  duties,  prayer,  for 
example?  Is  prayer  without  faith  acceptable? 
1  Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin.'  When  I  pray 
for  help  to  overcome  temptation,  I  have  no  confi 
dence  that  my  prayer  will  be  answered.  I  must 
then,  give  up  prayer  and  drift  with  the  tide,  for 
prayer  does  not  help  me.  It  may  help  others,  but 
in  my  case,  it  is  like  medicine  to  one  moribund,  in 
whom  the  constitutional  basis  has  fallen  out,  and 
the  medicine,  however  good  in  ordinary  cases, 
cannot  help  him.  (  Can  the  Ethiopian  change  his 
skin,  or  the  leopard  his  spots  ?  then  may  those  ac 
customed  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well. ' ' 

It  was  hard  to  give  up  prayer.  But  I  saw  no 
good  to  arise  from  it  in  such  a  case  as  mine.  And 
here,  a  singular  thought  took  possession  of  my 
mind.  It  was,  that  it  was  not  a  decent  treatment  of 
God,  after  all  he  had  done  for  me,  to  turn  my  back 
upon  his  altars,  to  visit  them  no  more,  without  one 
word  of  acknowledgment  of  rny  obligation  to  Him 
for  all  the  past.  Would  it  be  honorable  thus  to 
leave  an  earthly  benefactor,  the  words  of  grati 
tude  unspoken  ?  No,  no ;  I  would  not  leave  my 


OBERLIN  COLLEGE.  6l 

Maker  thus.  Once  more  I  would  visit  His  altars, 
and  there  I  would  enumerate  such  of  His  special 
favors  to  me  as  I  could  call  to  mind ;  I  would  thank 
Him  for  them,  and  express  my  regret  they  had 
not  availed  to  redeem  and  sanctify  a  nature  so  per 
verse  as  mine.  This  done,  I  would  leave  the  throne 
of  grace  forever  ! 

For  some  weeks  I  lived  without  prayer,  yet  I 
was  reluctant  to  come  to  that  last  prayer!  I  would 
take  my  time  for  it,  and  I  made  some  preparation 
for  it.  As  there  occurred  to  my  mind  special  mer 
cies  and  blessings  of  God  to  me,  I  jotted  them 
down  upon  a  sheet  of  paper.  A  page  was  filled  ; 
then  another,  and  I  was  surprised  at  their  number 
and  magnitude,  too. 

After  much  delay  1  came  to  an  afternoon  of 
leisure  and  I  said,  This  is  as  good  a  time  as  any. 
So  I  locked  my  door,  drew  down  the  curtains,  and 
spread  out  the  sheet  before  me,  containing  the  list 
of  mercies  I  was  to  enumerate  in  this  my  last 
prayer.  Finding  my  fickle,  emotional  nature 
greatly  moved  by  the  thought  of  this  being  my 
last  and  farewell  visit  to  my  Father's  house,  I 
remember  to  have  asked  the  Lord  to  quench  for 
ever  these  vain  emotions  in  my  heart.  For  they 
had  arisen  in  like  manner  a  thousand  times  before, 
incited  within  a  temporary  hope  of  victory  and 
improvement,  only  to  be  followed  by  an  enslave 
ment  more  absolute  than  ever.  And  I  hated  my 
rising  feelings,  because  long  experience  had  shown 
they  were  as  unstable  as  water.  I  now  took  up 


62  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

the  first  item,  my  birth  in  a  Christian  land.  What 
a  privilege,  what  a  blessing ;  then  for  life  in  this 
age  of  revivals  and  of  light,  this  nineteenth  cen 
tury  ;  I  thanked  Him  for  a  praying  mother  and 
sister,  each  so  self-forgetful  and  so  earnest  for  my 
salvation  ;  for  my  faithful  Sabbath  school  teacher ; 
for  my  early  pastor  ;  for  my  conversion,  and  helps 
so  many  thus  far  received  in  seeking  an  educa 
tion.  From  these  side  helps  I  turned  to  God  him 
self,  my  best  and  infinitely  greatest  friend.  Had 
he  not  made  me  with  his  own  loving  hands  ?  Had 
he  not  endowed  me  with  an  endless  being  ?  Had  he 
not  given  me  faculties  capable  of  infinite  expansion? 
Was  it  not  in  his  heart  to  make  me  His  loving  child, 
an  heir  of  God  and  a  joint  heir  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 
"  Lost  by  my  sin,  did  he  not  give  his  Son  for  my 
ransom?"  In  my  perversity  and  fickleness  what 
patience  had  followed  me,  even  till  now,  and  was 
He  not  even  at  this  moment  waiting  to  be  gracious  ? 
About  to  break  away  from  his  arms  in  my  despair, 
did  I  not  hear  Him  say,  "  How  can  I  give  thee  up, 
Ephraim?  How  shall  I  set  thee  as  Admah  !  How 
make  thee  as  Zeboim  !  My  heart  is  turned  within 
me !"  The  path  to  the  throne  of  grace  had  been 
deeply  trodden  by  me,  and  how  could  I  now  leave 
it  to  return  no  more  ?  While  I  lingered  the  ques 
tion  arose,  Cannot  an  infinite  God  save  a  case  so 
desperate  as  mine  ?  Of  course  he  could  were  he 
disposed  to  do  so,  and  do  it  as  easily  as  the  ocean 
can  float  a  feather  on  its  heaving  bosom.  Oh  !  if 
he  were  only  willing  !  But  is  he  not?  And,  if  not, 


OBERLIN  COLLEGE.  63 

what  is  the  meaning  of  this  array  of  mercies  I  have 
just  recounted  ?  What,  too,  mean  the  great  prom 
ises  of  the  Bible  to  the  worst  of  sinners,  the  most 
desperate  conditions  ?  Did  Jesus  ever  come  across 
a  case  of  disease  so  desperate  that  he  could  not 
cure  the  patient  when  he  besought  his  help?  No, 
there  is  a  way  in  which  I  could  be  saved  if  only  1 
could  find  it.  Will  he  not  take  my  hand  and  lead 
me  to  it.  "  There  is  a  path  the  vulture's  eye  hath 
not  seen,  and  the  lion's  whelp  has  not  trodden."  I 
will  ask  him  to  take  n^  hand  and  lead  me  to  it,  I 
know  his  loving  heart  cannot  reject  me,  nor  throw 
back  my  outstretched  palm.  Hope  now  began  to 
spring  up  in  my  heart.  My  conception  was  that 
there  was  an  experience^  a  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  over 
yonder,  which  once  received  would  so  vitalize  my 
spiritual  nature  that  thenceforth  the  flesh  would  be 
suppressed,  and  victory  would  be  easy  and  uniform. 
But  not  so  did  I  find  relief.  But,  nevertheless, 
with  this  idea  dominant,  1  asked  the  Lord  to  take 
me  and  lead  me  to  the  great  blessing,  victory  over 
sin.  I  arose,  adjusted  my  room  and  started  off, 
leaning  wholly  on  Christ's  arm.  The  bell  rang  for 
supper,  and  I  asked  the  Lord  to  go  with  me  there, 
and  keep  me  till  I  returned.  I  hoped,  also,  some 
word  dropped  there  would  prove  a  key  to  the  great 
treasure.  I  returned  and  thanked  him  for  keeping 
me  during  that  short  period  ;  then  I  asked  him  to 
keep  me  till  morning ;  then  to  help  me  prepare  for 
recitation,  and  so  on  from  one  stage  to  another 
through  the  day,  and  so  on  till  two  weeks  had 


64  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

passed,  all  the  time  looking  ahead  for  some  special 
experience  from  which  I  should  date  my  emanci 
pation,  my  entrance  upon  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of 
God.  One  day  a  very  devout  student  overtook 
me  in  one  of  my  walks,  and  linking  his  arm  in 
mine  said,  "Brother  B.,  I  have  observed  a  won 
drous  change  in  you  during  the  last  two  weeks. 
Tell  me !  Has  not  the  Lord  been  doing  wondrous 
things  for  you?  And  if  he  has  I  will  bless  his 
name  forever."  I  told  him  how  God  was  leading 
me  forward  toward  the  great  blessing  and  how  won- 
drously  he  was  keeping  me  from  my  besetting  sins. 
Then  he  said,  "  Why  !  Brother,  you  have  got  the 
blessing  now.  For  what  is  it  you  are  seeking  but 
victory  over  sin,  and  that  he  has  been  giving  you  for 
two  weeks  past."  Then  I  saw  that  "  This  is  the 
victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our 
faith."  I  had  returned  to  my  first  love,  I  was  now 
as  then,  no  more  leaning  on  circumstances,  Chris 
tian  society,  resolutions,  etc.,  to  help  me,  but 
wholly  on  Christ,  and  now,  as  then,  I  was  kept  by  the 
power  of  God.  I  remember  that  when  hope  began 
to  dawn  afresh,  I  said,  "  If  the  Lord  shall  keep  me, 
and  give  me  victory  over  sin,  then  shall  I  know 
that  he  can  keep  others  too,  whatever  their  estate. 
I  will  go  to  the  drunkard,  who  has  broken  his 
pledge  a  hundred  times,  and  will  say  to  him,  '  As 
sure  as  you  live,  Christ  will  keep  you  if  you  will 
cast  yourself  upon  him  and  follow  his  leading.  / 
know  it,  for  he  has  kept  meT  ' 

Fifty  years   have   come   and   gone    since  the 


OBERLIN  COLLEGE.  65 

scene  thus  described  at  length,  transpired.  But 
the  lesson  I  then  learned  of  human  weakness,  and 
the  inadequacy  of  all  human  helps  in  the  strife 
against  sin,  has  never  been  forgotten.  On  the 
other  hand  the  power  of  Christ  to  keep  the  soul 
that  leans  wholly  on  him,  has  grown  upon  the 
writer,  and  become  the  theme  that  always  encour 
ages  and  inspires.  And  in  preaching  Christ,  my 
heart  is  always  strong,  when  I  tell  weak  and  sinful 
men  of  a  Christ,  "  Who  is  able  to  save  unto  the 
uttermost,  all  who  come  unto  God  by  him."  How 
could  I  doubt  it,  after  all  he  has  done  for  me  ?  "I 
will  go  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  God.  I  will 
make  mention  of  his  name,  and  of  his  only." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AN    EVENTFUL   JOURNEY. 

Not  many  months  after  the  great  change  above 
narrated  I  went  East  to  my  old  home  in  Cheshire, 
Conn.,  and  this  is  why  I  made  the  journey,  how  I 
made  it,  and  the  results.  The  reason  for  making 
the  journey  was  that  I  longed  to  tell  my  brethren 
at  home  of  Christ  as  a  Saviour  from  sinning,  and  to 
warn  them  against  leaning  upon  moral  surround 
ings,  or  anything  else  save  help  from  on  high  to 
keep  them  from  backsliding,  lukewarmness  and 
sin.  I  wanted  also  to  tell  them  that  it  was  a  great 
mistake,  and  a  sad  one,  to  suppose  that  the  joy 
and  peace  of  the  convert  could  not  continue,  but 
in  the  nature  of  things  must  fade  and  pass  away. 

While  praying  over  the  matter  I  received  a 
letter  from  a  Miss  Benham,  a  sister  in  the  church 
in  Cheshire,  in  regard  to  her  brother  Welcome. 
She  was  very  anxious  for  his  conversion  ;  she 
asked  me  to  pray  for  him  ;  perhaps  to  write  him. 
She  wished  I  could  see  him.  He  had  often  spoken 
of  me  and  said  he  liked  to  hear  Mr.  Stevens  and 
me  pray  and  speak.  He  believed  they  were  real 
Christians. 

My  heart  became  enlisted  in  the  young  man, 
and  as  I  prayed  for  him  the  conviction, fastened 

(66) 


AN  EVENTFUL  JOURNEY.  67 

itself  upon  me  that  should  I  go  home  he  would  be 
converted,  and  perhaps  become  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel.  So  in  the  early  autumn  I  started  for 
home.  This  was  in  1837. 

I  left  Oberlin  with  but  seven  dollars  in  my 
pocket,  and  the  journey  exceeded  800  miles.  I 
hoped  to  get  some  money  in  Cleveland.  I  walked 
from  Oberlin  to  Dover,  some  twenty-five  miles, 
the  first  day.  The  tavern  where  I  stopped  over 
night  was  full,  and  I  had  to  sleep  upon  a  bench  in 
the  barroom.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  I 
called  upon  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church.  He  inquired  about  Oberlin,  and  about 
the  new  doctrine  of  Christian  perfection  now 
being  taught  there.  In  the  course  of  our  conver 
sation  on  the  subject  I  related  to  him  my  exper 
ience  and  the  life  of  faith  I  was  now  living.  He 
was  deeply  affected,  and  touching  my  arm  signifi 
cantly,  as  he  left  the  room,  I  followed  him.  He 
led  me  to  the  barn  and  said,  "  Brother,  that  bless 
ing  you  have  received,  I  want  and  I  must  have  it. 
1  cannot  live  without  it."  We  bowed  together 
in  prayer,  and  I  think  it  was  Jacob's  wrestling 
with  the  angel  once  more  repeated  on  earth  as  it 
has  been  a  thousand  times  before !  I  think  it  very 
likely  the  minister  repeated  the  words,  '•  I  will  not 
let  thee  go,  except  thou  bless  me."  I  am  quite 
certain  that  prayer-meeting  will  never  be  forgot 
ten  by  him  or  me.  Years  after  I  heard  of  him  as  a 
man  of  power,  and  looking  back  to  that  night  as 
the  crisis  in  his  religious  life. 


68  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

I  resumed  my  walk  the  next  morning,  thanking 
God  and  taking  courage. 

At  Cleveland  I  got  no  help,  so  I  paid  two  dol 
lars  out  of  the  seven  I  had  for  a  deck  passage  to 
Buffalo,  and  proceeded.  I  told  the  purser  on  the 
boat  I  was  short  of  money ;  could  he  furnish  me 
some  work  to  pay  in  part  for  my  passage?  He 
said,  in  substance,  Make  yourself  generally  helpful 
and  I  will  pay  you  what  is  right.  I  did  so,  and 
when  I  reached  Buffalo  he  paid  me,  if  I  recollect 
aright,  some  shillings  more  than  my  fare. 

At  Buffalo  I  took  the  canal  route,  walking  on 
the  towpath  all  day,  and  at  night  I  stepped  aboard 
a  passing  canal  boat  and  took  a  berth.  The  next 
morning  found  me  some  thirty  miles  further  on 
my  way,  and  my  fare  was  only  forty -five  cents,  or 
one  and  one-half  cents  a  mile.  1  then  stepped 
ashore  and  resumed  my  walk,  eating  some  crack 
ers,  etc.,  as  I  walked  along.  Taking  a  cross  cut 
through  Marcellus  I  was  taken  down  at  that  place 
with  bilious  fever.  It  had  been  coming  on  for 
several  days,  and  when  I  reached  Marcellus  I  was 
completely  prostrated  with  it,  and  could  proceed 
no  further. 

The  tavern  where  1  stopped  was  quite  full,  and 
the  landlord  was  quite  reluctant  to  take  in  a  sick 
man.  He  advised  me  to  go  to  the  minister's  house. 
Not  knowing  where  else  to  go  I  went.  I  introduced 
myself  as  a  student  from  Oberlin  on  my  way  to  my 
home  in  Connecticut.  "Did  he  know  of  a  family  in 
his  church  where  I  could  be  housed  and  cared  for 


AN  EVENTFUL  JOURNEY.  69 

till  this  attack  had  subsided,  since  there  was  no 
room  for  me  in  the  tavern?"  He  could  not  tell 
me  of  one ;  though  many  ol  his  people  were  rich 
and  dwelt  in  large  houses,  they  were  reluctant  to  en 
tertain  strangers,  especially  if  sick.  As  for  himself 
his  house  was  full,  would  be  glad  to  entertain  me 
but  could  not.  I  took  it  all  pleasantly  and  said  1 
had  no  doubt  I  should,  in  any  event,  fare  as  well 
as  the  Master,  and  what  could  a  servant  ask  more. 
So  I  left,  thanking  him  for  his  sympathy  and 
kind  wishes  and  words,  asked  him  to  have  no 
solicitude  about  me  for  I  knew  One  who  possessed 
all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  would  never  leave 
me  nor  forsake  me.  I  could  with  difficulty  walk  or 
even  sit  up,  but  I  staggered  down  the  steps,  bound 
for  the  hotel  again.  Before  I  had  proceeded  many 
steps  I  heard  a  female  voice  say  something  very 
earnestly  to  the  minister  and  he  opened  the  door 
and  called  me  back,  saying  that  his  wife  insisted 
that  she  could  make  room  for  me.  I  said  "  No, 
let  me  look  elsewhere ;  I  know  ministers'  families 
are  overtaxed  by  calls  of  ministers,  agents  and  all 
sorts  of  people  in  distress,  etc."  But  as  I  was 
declining  the  woman  herself  came  down  the  steps, 
and  insisted  on  my  staying  with  them,  and  when 
she  added  that  if  I  did  not  she  would  be  deeply 
grieved,  I  consented. 

Well !  I  went  in,  was  taken  up  stairs  and  was 
soon  on  a  sick  bed.  After  a  severe  turn  of  vomit 
ing  and  two  or  three  hours  of  rest,  I  was  able  to 
talk.  Ever  and  anon  the  good  woman  flitted  in 


70  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  out  of  the  chamber,  ministering  to  my  neces 
sities.  Occasionally  this  ministering  angel  sat 
down  a  few  minutes  by  the  bedside  and  fanned  my 
fevered  brow.  Sick  as  I  was  my  heart  was  full  of 
the  joy  of  God,  and  the  peace  which  flows  like  a 
river.  And  a  heart  full  always  seeks  suitable 
expression.  She  became  deeply  interested  ;  she 
went  and  called  her  husband,  and  they  both  sat 
down  by  me,  and  we  talked  of  the  great  salvation. 
Each  day  and  indeed  each  hour  drew  our  hearts 
more  closely  together.  We  did  not  talk  much 
about  names,  or  theories,  we  talked  about  things. 
My  sickness  was  short.  I  was  soon  able  to  pur 
sue  my  journey.  But  how  endeared  to  me  was 
that  family  ?  They  insisted  on  my  staying  longer, 
and  when  I  left  they  both  wept  and  parted  with 
me  as  if  I  were  a  brother  after  the  flesh,  and  more, 
also,  than  that.  Dear  friends,  I  have  forgotten 
their  names,  not  their  hospitality  and  their  love. 
When  I  reach  the  heavenly  mansions  I  shall 
inquire  where  they  are  and  visit  them  and  talk 
over  that  short  visit,  "  when  I  was  a  stranger  and 
they  took  me  in,  sick  and  in  want  and  they  minis 
tered  unto  me." 

Pursuing  my  way  on  the  canal  line,  as  I  began, 
I  reached  Albany  with  just  fifty  cents  in  my  purse. 
I  found  there  was  an  opposition  line  of  stages, 
running  between  Albany  and  Hartford,  Conn.  I 
went  to  one  of  the  offices  and  found  the  fare 
between  the  two  places  was  two  dollars.  I  should 
need  the  fifty  cents  I  had  to  buy  a  little  food  on 


AN  EVENTFUL  JOURNEY.  /I 

my  way.  Could  they  trust  me  for  the  fare?  I 
would  send  it  up  to  their  office  in  Hartford,  when 
I  reached  home.  The  agent  thought  not ;  I  could 
wait  till  the  proprietor  of  the  stage  line  came  in. 
When  he  came  he  looked  over  the  list  of  pas 
sengers  and  said,  "  There  is  room  for  him,  so  take 
him  along,  I  guess  he  is  honest." 

The  next  evening,  just  before  sundown,  when 
near  Farmington  I  got  off  the  stage  to  take  the 
road  to  Cheshire  through  Farmington.  The  sun 
set  as  I  was  entering  the  village,  and  I  turned  into 
the  first  tavern.  Taking  out  the  ten  cents,  all  I 
had  left,  I  said  to  the  landlord,  "  My  name  is  Bris 
tol,  I  am  on  my  way  from  Ohio  to  Cheshire,  and  I 
am  so  near  out  of  money,  but  I  want  supper  and 
lodging,  and  perhaps  breakfast,  and  when  I  get 
home  I  will  send  you  the  money  to  pay  for  these 
accommodations."  He  looked  at  me  searchingly 
and  turning  away,  said  his  place  was  not  an  hospital. 
He  did  not  keep  a  free  lunch  and  lodging  house! 
No  tavern  could  do  business  and  live  in  that  way, 
etc.  I  went  out  upon  the  piazza  and  looked  up 
the  street  and  down  the  street,  doubtful  which 
way  to  go,  when  I  heard  a  female  voice  calling 
the  landlord  back  into  the  kitchen.  Directly  he 
came  out  and  asked,  "Did  you  say  your  name  was 
Bristol,  and  that  you  were  from  Cheshire  ?"  "Yes, 
sir."  *'  Do  you  know  one  Gid,  or  Gideon  Bristol 
there  ?"  "Yes,  sir,  he  is  my  father.'*  "  Your 
father !  Your  father !"  "  Yes."  "  And  you  want 
supper  and  lodging  ?  Of  course  you  can  have  it, 


72  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

and  the  best  that  this  house  can  afford  too !  Your 
father  has  stopped  at  this  house  half  a  hundred 
times  !  He  is  one  of  my  best  friends,  and  no  boy 
of  his  ever  asks  a  meal  and  lodging  here  and  gets 
turned  away  !  Not  much  !  Here  Bridget !  Get 
this  young  man  the  best  supper  this  house  can  fur 
nish,  and  a  good  room  too  !"  And  then  he  went 
away  muttering  other  things  to  himself  doubtless, 
to  the  same  effect.  So  I  fared  sumptuously  that 
night,  and  after  breakfast  the  next  morning  I  went 
on  my  way  homeward.  Thus  I  found  that  some 
times  it  is  a  good  thing  to  be  the  son  of  your 
father ! 

HOME   AGAIN. 

The  Saturday  evening  after  reaching  home,  I 
attended  the  prayer-meeting  held  in  the  vestibule 
of  the  Congregational  Church.  I  was  called  upon 
to  speak  and  in  doing  so  told  my  brethren  how  I 
began  my  religious  life  among  them,  leaning 
wholly  upon  Christ  and  looking  constantly  to  him 
for  help  in  every  time  of  need.  How  wondrously 
I  was  upheld.  Also,  how  I  began  gradually  to  lean 
upon  my  resolutions,  upon  Christian  helpers  and 
upon  my  surroundings.  How  from  that  point  I 
began  to  decline  in  spirituality  and  in  power  to 
combat  my  besetting  sins  and  temptation  in  gen 
eral.  I  told  them  how  obstinately  I  clung  to  these 
vain  helpers,  till  at  last,  utterly  disheartened  and 
despairing  of  help  from  man  or  from  myself,  I  cast 
myself  upon  Christ  as  I  did  in  the  beginning,  and 
said :  "Thou  canst  save,  and  thou  alone."  That 


AN  EVENTFUL  JOURNEY.  73 

when  I  came  to  this,  the  same  relief  which  took 
me  up  and  carried  me  in  arms  divine,  when  a  lad 
of  fifteen,  now  reappeared  and  carried  me  as  on 
eagle  wings.  I  threw  away  my  book  of  resolutions, 
I  gave  up  all  reliance  on  favorable  Christian 
society  to  save  me.  I  looked  solely  to  Jesus.  This 
one  thing  I  did.  It  was  now  six  months  since  this 
return  to  my  first  love  and  to  my  first  faith.  That 
the  bliss  of  those  days  of  first  love  had  returned 
and  greatly  increased — Jordan  overflowed  all  its 
banks.  That  I  knew  of  no  reason  why  it  might 
not  last  a  lifetime,  yes,  and  forever  and  ever !  I 
closed  by  saying  :  "Come,  brethren  beloved,  let  us 
take  the  hand  of  Jesus  and  let  us  go  up  higher." 

I  was  listened  to  with  deep  interest,  and  I 
believe  with  entire  candor.  As  the  meeting  broke 
up,  quite  a  number  pressed  my  hand  and  said  : 
"That  is  what  I  want,  pray  for  me."  The  pastor, 
Rev.  Erastus  Colton,  thanked  me  for  those  words 
of  cheer  and  words  of  love,  and  prayed  that  they 
might  do  us  all  good.  His  wife  too  was  very  cor 
dial  in  her  greeting  and  was  not  in  the  least  afraid 
to  ask  :  "Is  there  not  something  in  the  Gospel  for 
me  I  have  not  as  yet  attained  unto?"  Mr.  A.  A. 
Stevens,  the  most  intimate  and  deeply  loved  friend 
I  ever  had,  then  a  member  of  Yale  College,  was 
at  home  on  a  vacation.  I  told  him  the  interest  I 
felt  in  Welcome  Benham  and  my  belief  that  he 
would  be  converted  and  make  a  useful  man.  He 
at  once  entered  into  full  sympathy  with  me  in  the 
matter.  As  the  best  way  of  getting  hold  of  him, 


74  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

we  agreed  to  appoint  a  religious  meeting  on 
Cheshire  street.  His  devout  sister  also  entered 
into  our  plans,  and  agreed  to  induce  Welcome  to 
attend  the  meeting.  The  next  Sabbath  notice  was 
given  out  in  church,  that  "brothers  Stevens  and 
Bristol  would  hold  a  religious  meeting  on  Cheshire 
street  on  such  an  evening.  Doubtless  the  people 
in  that  neighborhood,  and  especially  the  young 
people,  would  be  glad  to  hear  our  College  brethren 
talk  of  the  great  salvation."  Stevens  and  I  were 
much  together  and  before  the  meeting  had  agreed 
upon  the  topic  on  which  we  would  speak.  It  was 
to  be  the  goodness  of  God  to  us  all,  and  his 
worthiness  to  be  loved,  served  and  trusted.  The 
evening  came  and  the  house  was  full.  After  sing 
ing  and  prayer,  I  rose  to  speak  on  the  theme  agreed 
upon — the  goodness  of  God.  In  opening,  inciden 
tally  I  remarked  that  men  treated  God  as  if  he 
was  a  hard  master  demanding  a  service  exceed 
ingly  hard  to  render,  so  hard  that  they  would  run 
risks  awful  to  contemplate,  rather  than  render  it. 
This  led  to  other  thoughts  in  the  direction  of  human 
hostility  to  God  and  his  government.  On  and  on 
I  was  led  till  I  had  drawn  a  portrait  of  man's 
depravity,  ingratitude  and  guiltiness,  such  as  I  had 
never  conceived  of  before.  It  was  a  portrait  fit 
for  devils  lost,  rather  than  for  men  living  in  a  world 
of  mercy  and  salvation.  I  sat  down  astonished  at 
the  strange  direction  my  thoughts  had  taken,  and 
not  less  at  the  results  at  which  they  had  arrived. 
Yet  I  felt  that  I  had  spoken  with  the  manifest  help 


AN  EVENTFUL  JOURNEY.  75 

of  God,  and  as  led  by  his  Spirit.  I  was  reminded 
of  a  sermon  in  a  similar  strain,  preached  by  the 
Elder  Edwards  at  North  Hampton,  so  awful  in  its 
arraignment  of  human  rebellion,  that  one  of  his 
deacons  rose  up  in  the  midst  of  it  and  cried  out, 
"Oh,  Mr.  Edwards !  Mr.  Edwards !  is  not  God  a 
God  of  mercy  f" 

Mr.  Stevens  followed  me,  fully  intending  when 
he  rose  to  turn  the  thoughts  of  the  people  to  the 
theme  agreed  upon — the  goodness  and  mercy  of 
God.  But  he  must  needs  connect  his  remarks 
with  mine,  by  a  slight  addenda  to  its  thoughts. 
So  he  opened  by  saying,  it  was  indeed  true  now, 
as  before  the  flood,  that  the  wickedness  of  man 
was  great  upon  earth.  He  had  thought  of  other 
ways  in  which  it  revealed  itself.  He  mentioned 
one,  then  another,  then  another,  and  on  and  on  fie 
proceeded,  describing  graphically  the  downward 
road,  till  at  last  he  too  sat  down,  like  myself,  not 
having  said  one  word  on  the  theme  agreed  upon ! 
How  silent  that  house  was  when  he  ceased  to 
speak !  I  called  upon  a  deacon  to  pray.  He 
declined.  Upon  others — all  wished  to  be  excused. 
We  had  to  close  the  meeting  ourselves.  As  we 
were  about  to  disperse  I  said  if  the  people  will 
come  together  one  week  from  this  evening  we  will 
gladly  meet  with  them.  A  few  shook  hands  with 
us,  but  the  majority  scattered  immediately  for  their 
homes,  scarcely  exchanging  a  word  with  each 
other.  When  we  had  got  by  ourselves,  Stevens 
grasped  my  arm  nervously  and  asked :  "What  on 


76  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

earth  led  you  off  upon  that  awful  theme  ?"  "Sure 
enough  !"  said  I,  "1  don't  know  !  I  cannot  account 
for  it !  But  why  did  not  you,  who  had  ample  time 
for  reflection,  correct  the  matter,  by  contrasting 
the  love  of  God  with  man's  alienation,  ingratitude 
and  sin  ?  You  had  a  grand  opportunity."  "Yes, 
yes,"  said  he,  "why  did  I  not  ?  I  intended  to  do  so, 
but  I  got  my  foot  into  the  rut  and  I  could  not 
get  it  out.  But  why  did  you  appoint  another 
meeting  ?"  said  he.  "Not  one  of  them  will  come 
again!  They  are  mad  as  hornets!"  Well!  I  did 
not  like  to  have  the  meeting  close  so.  I  wanted 
another  chance  to  retrieve  the  situation.  Besides, 
Welcome  Benham  must  be  converted.  We  felt  so 
badly  about  the  turn  the  meeting  had  taken,  that 
we  turned  aside  into  a  grove  and  asked  the  Lord 
to  pardon  our  blunders  and  help  us  to  regain  the 
next  evening  the  lost  ground. 

One  week  from  that  time  we  were  on  our  way 
to  the  Cheshire  street  schoolhouse.  Our  expec 
tation  of  seeing  a  good  congregation  was  slight. 
Indeed,  we  doubted  whether  the  house  would  be 
lighted  at  all.  We  believed  we  had  offended  the 
people  greatly.  Coming  in  sight  of  the  school- 
house,  we  saw  no  light,  and  concluded  our  fears 
were  realized.  But  as  we  drew  nigh,  we  saw  the 
house  was  full;  all  the  seats  and  benches  and  desks 
and  even  the  windows  were  occupied,  so  was  the 
entry  way  and  all  the  standing  room,  and  a  crowd 
was  gathered  around  the  door ! 

What  could  it  mean  ?    We  felt  that  God  was 


AN  EVENTFUL  JOURNEY.  77 

there ;  that  "  This  is  none  other  than  the  house  of 
God  and  the  gate  of  Heaven.'*  With  difficulty 
we  crowded  our  way  within.  A  hymn  sung,  a 
prayer,  and  I  began  to  speak.  My  theme  was — 
if  I  remember  rightly — "  Seeking  Jesus ;  how  to 
seek  him,  and  the  certainty  of  finding  him,  if 
we  seek  him  with  decent  earnestness  and  perse 
verance." 

To  illustrate  this,  I  told  the  story  of  the  Afri 
can  who  went  to  England  under  a  load  of  con 
scious  guilt,  seeking  "  The  Christian's  God  who 
paid  the  debt."  It  is  a  simple  story,  and  ordina 
rily  when  told,  is  not  very  impressive.  But  not  so 
when  told  this  night.  The  people  were  greatly 
moved  by  it.  The  whole  house  was  in  tears.  Par 
tially  suppressed  sighs  were  heard  all  through  the 
house,  by  persons  endeavoring  to  hold  down  their 
emotions.  Before  I  had  finished  what  I  had  pre 
pared  to  say,  I  saw  clearly  the  crisis  had  come, 
and  called  upon  Brother  Stevens  to  pray ;  and 
what  a  prayer  that  was!  The  healing  Jesus  had 
come  into  the  room,  and  while  he  prayed,  was  wip 
ing  away  penitential  tears,  and  saying  to  one  and 
another,  "Son,  daughter,  thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee." 

As  he  ended  a  hand  reached  through  the 
crowd  and  rested  on  my  shoulder.  I  turned,  and 
lo !  it  was  the  hand  of  Commodore  Andrew  Foote, 
son  of  Ex-Governor  Foote  and  brother  of  my  be 
loved  Sabbath  school  teacher,  heretofore  spoken 
of.  He  it  was,  who  afterward  became  so  famous 


?8  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

as  the  conqueror  of  the  Rebel  forces  on  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  branches,  with  his  gunboats.  He 
had  that  day  come  home  on  a  short  furlough, 
and  hearing  that  Brother  Stevens  and  I  were  to 
hold  a  meeting  that  night  on  Cheshire  street,  had 
ridden  four  miles  to  meet  us  and  attend  the  meet 
ing.  I  drew  him  into  the  little  vacant  spot  where 
Brother  Stevens  and  I  stood,  and  said, — 

"  Here  is  our  dear  Brother  Andrew  Foote,  fresh 
from  the  ocean.  We  will  hear  what  he  thinks  of 
this  great  salvation." 

He  began  by  saying :  "  After  the  clear  exhibi 
tion  of  the  way  to  find  Jesus,  and  after  that  prayer 
which  carried  us  all  up  to  the  very  altar  of  mercy, 
what  can  I  say  but  this :  Let  us,  each  for  himself, 
lay  fast  hold  on  eternal  life,"  and  after  this  man 
ner  went  on. 

Dear  man !  I  have  never  seen  him  since — one 
of  the  noblest  men  who  ever  trod  the  quarter-deck. 
Long  since  he  died  of  a  wound  from  a  rebel  can 
non-ball  received  at  Fort  Donelson. 

When  he  ceased  to  speak,  we  closed  the  meet 
ing.  But  how  loth  the  people  were  to  part.  Some 
twenty  persons,  it  was  estimated,  that  night,  in 
that  house,  found  the  pearl  of  great  price,  and 
sold  all  and  bought  it.  Welcome  Benham  was  in 
terviewed  and  before  we  let  him  go  he  asked  us 
to  pray  for  him  and  promised  to  pray  for  himself. 
And  now,  the  people  would  scarcely  let  us  go  home. 
We  must  stay  and  visit  the  inquirers  and  the  con 
verts,  and  the  people  generally,  and  we  did  so. 


AN   EVENTFUL  JOURNEY.  79 

Incidentally  I  mentioned,  in  the  course  of  our 
stay  there,  to  a  leading  person,  how  badly  we  felt, 
after  our  terrible  arraignment  of  the  people  at  the 
first  meeting.  He  looked  surprised,  and  said  no 
one  looked  at  it  in  that  light,  or  as  at  all  objection 
able  in  manner  or  in  matter,  and  that  the  reason  why 
the  deacon  and  others  would  not  pray,  was,  "  We 
all  felt  so  guilty  our  mouths  were  stopped." 

From  Cheshire  street,  the  work  of  grace  spread 
all  over  the  township,  and  as  the  result,  I  believe 
a  hundred  or  more,  united  with  the  Congrega 
tional  Church. 

Among  these  was  Welcome  Benham,  who  soon 
went  to  Oberlin  to  commence  a  course  of 
studies,  and  though  prevented  from  finishing  it  on 
account  of  failing  health,  nevertheless  has  exerted 
a  constant  and  extended  influence  in  favor  of  the 
cause  he  then  espoused.  He  now  lives  in  Meri- 
den,  Connecticut ;  has  long  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  there,  and 
has  been  about  as  wholly  devoted  to  the  cause,  as 
if  he  were  set  apart  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RETURN   TO    OBERLIN. 

My  work  seemed  to  be  done;  the  object  for 
which  I  had  revisited  my  native  place  accom 
plished,  and  I  felt  that  I  must  retrace  my  steps  and 
resume  my  studies  at  Oberlin,  so  as  to  overtake 
my  class  and  be  able  to  go  on  with  them  in  the 
Spring  term.  So  I  announced  to  my  friends  that 
on  such  a  day  I  expected  to  start  on  my  return  to 
Oberlin. 

My  mother  asked,  "  Where  is  the  money  com 
ing  from  ?  "  I  replied,  that  the  Lord  had  plenty  of 
it,  and  if  it  was  his  will  I  should  return,  the  money 
would  be  coming  in  due  time.  My  dear  friend, 
William  Law,  questioned  me  very  closely  as  to  the 
grounds  of  my  faith  in  God's  help  in  financial  mat 
ters',  thought  it  bordered  closely  on  presumption, 
but  did  not  know  but  what  I  was  right,  after  all. 
He  made  me  promise  to  take  tea  with  him  and  his 
family  the  evening  before  I  left. 

On  the  previous  Sunday,  as  I  shook  hands  and 
said  good-bye  to  numerous  friends  I  was  to  see  no 
more,  quite  a  number  left  in  my  hand  a  piece  of 
money ;  some,  half-a-dollar ;  some,  a  dollar,  and 
some,  as  high  as  five  dollars.  Blessed  money,  too, 
it  was — all  the  gift  of  love,  all  enwreathed  with 

(80) 


RETURN  TO   OBERLIN.  8 1 

prayer,  and  all  blessed  of  the  Lord !  Shall  I  ever 
forget,  or  cease  to  love  the  hearts  and  hands  which 
gave  them  ?  Where,  now,  in  such  an  hour,  was 
the  momentary  flurry  which  jostled  our  love  some 
two  years  before,  when  I  took  my  stand  on  the 
Anti-Slavery  question?  All  gone,  and  gone  for 
ever!  Even  so — the  great  bones  of  contention, 
around  which  great  sections  of  the  church  have 
striven,  have  many  of  them  already  moldered 
away  and  will  yet  become  as  the  fine  dust  of  the 
balance,  as  the  eons  of  eternity  come  on. 

According  to  agreement,  I  took  tea  with 
Brother  Law  and  his  family.  He  asked  me  how 
much  I  lacked  of  the  amount  necessary  to  return 
to  college,  and  commence  the  new  term,  and  when 
he  knew,  went  to  his  drawer  and  came  back, 
bringing  the  sum,  which  he  put  into  my  hand  and 
sent  me  away  with  tears  in  his  eyes  and  blessings 
upon  his  lips.  On  that  last  interview  with  that  good 
man,  he  thanked  me  for  having  converted  him  to 
the  temperance  cause,  some  years  before.  And 
thus  it  was : 

HOW   MY   FRIEND  WAS    CONVERTED    TO    TOTAL 
ABSTINENCE. 

In  one  of  my  vacations  he  had  employed  me 
to  work  on  his  farm.  One  day  as  I  was  gathering 
his  winter  apples,  he  came  out  into  the  orchard, 
and  said,  "  There  is  some  trouble  over  at  the  cider 
mill.  Mr.  Mallory,  who  is  making  the  cider,  is 
drunk,  and  is  making  a  fool  of  himself  generally. 


82  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

He  cannot  get  the  blocking  on.  Will  you  go  over 
and  set  things  up  right  and  finish  the  job  ?"  I  did 
not  like  to  displease  so  good  a  man  and  so  kind  a 
friend,  so  I  started  for  the  mill,  keeping  up  in  the 
meantime  a  vigorous  discussion  within,  whether 
it  was  right  for  me,  a  Christian  and  a  temperance 
man,  to  employ  the  strength  the  Lord  had  given 
me  in  making  cider.  This  was  not  for  vinegar ; 
it  was  to  be  used  for  drinking  purposes,  the  most 
of  it  long  after  it  had  fermented  and  become 
charged  with  intoxicating  properties.  Was  it  not 
pulling  down,  in  one  part  of  the  day,  a  cause  I  was 
trying  to  build  up  in  the  other? 

I  came  to  the  mill.  There  was  Mallory,  stag 
gering  about  and  swearing,  monarch  of  all  he  sur 
veyed.  A  few  years  before  he  was  the  boss  wrest 
ler  of  the  township,  but  now,  cider  chiefly,  had  so 
shorn  off  his  locks,  that  I  easily  managed  him — 
set  him  down  in  a  corner  and  bade  him  stay  there 
and  keep  quiet.  But  my  whole  nature  revolted 
against  the  whole  drunkard-making  business.  Af 
ter  putting  on  a  part  of  the  blocking,  I  desisted — 
left  the  mill  and  went  back.  In  doing  so  I  fully 
expected  to  lose  the  favor  and  help  of  the  best 
friend  I  had  in  Cheshire.  He  was  a  somewhat  pos 
itive  man,  and  was  said  to  be  rather  impatient  of 
contradiction.  His  influence  was  great  in  the  com 
munity,  and  who  would  stand  by  me  should  Mr. 
Law  turn  against  me?  He  had,  up  to  this  time, 
contended  for  the  moderate  use  of  wine  and  cider, 
and  both  these  were  usually  on  his  dining  table. 


RETURN   TO   OBERLIN.  83 

The  temperance  people  felt  keenly  his  influence, 
but  had  not  been  able  to  bring1  him  over  to  their 
views. 

When  I  had  reached  the  house,  I  said,  "  Mr. 
Law,  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  it  grieves  me 
to  disoblige  a  man  who  has  done  so  much  for  me 
as  you  have,  or  to  lose  the  favor  of  one  I  so  highly 
respect,  but  I  suppose  I  must  do  so,  or  forfeit  my 
peace  of  conscience  and  my  sense  of  duty.  Mr. 
Law,  I  cannot  conscientiously  put  up  that  cider 
apple  cheese.  That  cider  will  help  to  make  drunk 
ards  like  Mallory.  I  don't  believe  it  is  right  for 
me  to  make  it." 

Mr.  Law  dropped  his  head  and  quickly  said, 
"  Well !  well !  I  will  go,  and  you  can  go  to  gather 
ing  the  winter  apples."  I  believed  I  had  deeply 
offended  him.  It  did  look  absurd,  a  young  man  in 
his  teens  sitting  in  judgment  on  a  venerable  man 
of  sixty,  and  on  his  cider  making,  and  for  that,  his 
drinking  too.  And  I  said  to-night  after  tea  I  shall 
get  a  lecture,  then  my  wages,  and  then  my  dis 
charge  papers.  But  I  kept  praying,  first  for  Mr. 
Law  and  then  for  myself,  that  the  Lord  would 
control  his  thoughts  and  also  guide  my  mind  in 
judgment  and  my  lips  in  speech.  At  tea  scarce  a 
word  was  said.  I  ate  a  little,  asked  to  be  excused 
and  rose  to  go  out.  "  Please  step  into  the  parlor," 
said  Mr.  Law,  "I  wish  to  speak  with  you  a  moment." 
I  went  in  and  waited.  He  came  in  and  after  a 
brief  silence  he  said,  "  I  wish  you  would  tell  me 
why  you  could  not  work  in  the  cider  mill  this 


84  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

afternoon."  I  began  by  telling  him  what  a  curse 
cider  had  been  among  a  number  of  my  kindred 
and  dear  neighbors,  either  making  sots  of  them  by 
itself,  or  creating  a  hankering  after  stronger  stimu 
lants  which  at  length  slew  them,  both  body  and 
soul.  Could  I  help  perpetuate  and  extend  this 
curse  of  curses  ?  No,  not  by  one  day's  work  with 
hands  Christ  had  redeemed  and  set  to  work  in  the 
opposite  direction.  My  feeling  was  so  deep  I  could 
proceed  no  further.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Low  had 
been  diligently  plying  his  handkerchief  to  his 
eyes  and  cheeks.  At  length  he  said  in  broken 
sentences,  "  My  young  friend,  you  are  right,  I  am 
glad  you  quit  the  old  mill.  It  never  looked  so 
nasty  as  it  did  to  me  to-day  and  I  could  not  put  on 
the  blocking  till  I  had  promised  the  Lord  I  would 
never  put  up  another  unless  for  vinegar."  He 
could  scarcely  say  enough  to  express  his  approval 
of  my  course.  He  knew  well  what  it  cost  me. 
From  that  time  he  was  doubly  my  friend.  Thence 
onward  cider  and  wine  were  excluded  from  his 
table,  and  many  were  the  occasions  when  he  told, 
to  the  delight  of  the  temperance  people,  the  story 
of  his  conversion  to  the  total  abstinence  principle. 
This  was  the  man  who  filled  out  the  purse  neces 
sary  to  carry  me  back  to  Oberlin  College. 

So  having  thus  received  help  from  God  I  went 
back  to  Oberlin,  with  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  and 
wonder  as  I  looked  over  those  four  months  of 
journeying,  and  of  visit  to  my  native  town.  It 
seemed  to  me  then  and  it  seems  to  me  now,  to 
border  well  nigh  on  the  miraculous. 


RETURN  TO  OBERLIN.  85 

The  students  were  nearly  all  away  teaching 
school  during  the  long  winter  vacation.  I  looked 
up  my  studies  where  I  left  off,  and  when  the  spring 
term  commenced  I  was  able  to  resume  studies 
with  my  class. 

Nothing  special  occurred  during  my  Junior 
year,  save  that  I  was  wonderfully  provided  for 
financially.  Strange  it  was,  but  true,  that  when  I 
came  to  need  money  or  books,  or  clothing,  some 
how  they  came.  And  I  noticed,  too,  that  God 
held  them  back  just  long  enough  to  enable  me  to 
appreciate  their  value,  and  thus  properly  estimate 
the  love  of  the  giver.  And  I  used  often  to  won 
der  if  the  commandment  to  pray  and  to  pray  often, 
did  not  also  arise  in  part  from  the  yearnings  of  the 
great  oaternal  heart  for  converse  with  his  chil 
dren. 

A   SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE. 

I  ought  not  here  to  omit  the  mention  of  a  spe 
cial  providence,  supplying  a  special  need  of  so 
marked  a  character  that  I  was  compelled  to  say, 
"  This  is  the  finger  of  God." 

I  had  borrowed  five  dollars  of  a  Mr.  Penfield, 
a  student.  One  day  he  came  to  me  in  haste  and 
said,  "  My  people  are  sick  and  I  must  start  for  home 
this  noon,  and  shall  need  that  five  dollars  to  pay 
my  fare."  I  went  at  once  to  get  it,  but  I  could 
neither  get  it  where  it  was  due  me  nor  borrow  it. 
Just  then  money  had  become  very  scarce  in  Ober- 
lin.  The  bell  rang  for  twelve  o'clock,  the  stage 
threw  off  its  mails  at  the  postoffice  and  was  rush- 


86  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

ing  to  the  hotel  to  change  horses,  then  to  rush 
back,  take  its  mail  and  go  on.  I  was  returning  to 
Tappan  Hall  and  saw  Mr.  Penfield  in  the  south 
door  waiting  for  his  money.  What  should  I  say 
to  him  ?  That  the  Lord  had  failed  me  this  time  ? 
What  a  disappointment  to  him,  and  what  influence 
would  that  failure  have  on  my  faith  and  his  ?  But 
I  saw  a  man  running  toward  the  Hall  who  reached 
it  simultaneously  with  myself.  Before  I  had  time 
to  speak  to  Penfield  the  stranger  cried  out,  "  Is 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Bristol  here  ?"  "  That  is  my 
name,"  I  said,  "and  I  am  the  only  one  of  that  name 
in  college."  "  Well,"  said  he,  handing  me  five  dol 
lars,  "  I  suppose  this  belongs  to  you."  "  Who 
gave  it  you?"  "  Don't  know,  just  as  I  left  Cleve 
land  a  gentleman  handed  me  this  and  said,  i  Give 
it  to  a  man  in  Oberlin  by  name  of  Bristol/  That 
is  all  I  know  about  it,"  and  he  turned  and  ran  back 
to  the  postoffice.  I  handed  it  over  to  Penfield, 
and  went  to  my  room  to  thank  God  for  the  gift, 
and  also  for  this  helper  of  my  faith. 

Years  after,  in  passing  through  Cleveland,  I 
met  a  lawyer  by  name  of  Sterling,  and  he  asked, 
"  Did  you,  some  two  years  ago,  receive  five  dol 
lars  from  me  ?"  I  said  I  had  no  recollection  of  it, 
but  told  him  of  receiving  five  dollars  of  a  stranger 
as  narrated  above.  "  Do  tell !"  said  he,  "  I  sent 
that  five  dollars  and  it  has  troubled  me  more  than 
any  five  I  ever  lost  or  thought  I  lost.  Thus  it  was : 
I  was  standing  by  the  Weddle  House  as  the  stage 
was  starting  off  one  morning,  gazing  upon  the 


RETURN   TO   OBERLIN.  8/ 

passengers  filling  up  the  coach.  As  the  driver  was 
gathering  up  his  lines  a  passenger  thrust  his  head 
out  of  the  window  and  asked,  *  Does  this  coach 
pass  through  Oberlin  ?  '  '  Yes/  said  the  driver. 
At  once  I  drew  out  my  purse,  and  handing  the 
stranger  five  dollars  said,  *  Give  this  to  a  student 
by  name  of  Bristol  there,  they  will  all  know  him,' 
the  driver  cracked  his  whip  and  the  stage  was  off. 
I  was  confounded  at  what  I  had  done,  and  said  of 
myself,  '  What  a  fool  I  was  to  give  that  five  dollars 
to  a  total  stranger !  He  will  forget  the  name,  and 
if  he  don't  he  will  have  no  time  to  look  up  Mr. 
Bristol;  the  stage  only  stops  to  change  horses. 
Ten  to  one  he  will  keep  it.  Surely  I  am  a  fool.' 
A  hundred  times  I  said  this  of  my  action,  and 
wondered  at  its  precipitancy.  It  seemed  as  if  for 
the  instant  another  will  had  control  of  my  hand 
and  my  purse.  So  you  received  it  after  all,  and 
just  when  you  needed  it,  too,"  and  he  went  away 
in  deep  meditation.  Of  course  such  singular  inter 
positions  are  rare,  but  do  not  some  such  occur  in 
every  life,  enough  to  startle  us  out  of  our  mater 
ialism,  with  the  conviction,  "  Thou  God  seest  me"? 
Thus  I  was  provided  for  during  my  entire 
course  of  studies,  academic,  collegiate  and  theolog 
ical,  and  when  I  graduated  I  owed  no  man  any 
thing  but  love,  save  Messrs.  Smith  &  Dove,  and 
entering  the  ministry  was  to  cancel  my  notes  to 
them.  While  upon  the  topic  I  may  add  here  that 
this  divine  care  over,  and  provision  for,  my  phys 
ical  and  financial  necessities,  has  not  abated  one 


88  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

whit  since  I  left  the  seminary,  in  1842,  till  this  year 
of  grace,  A.  D.,  1887,  a  period  of  forty-five  years. 

My  life  has  been  spent  mainly  upon  the  fron 
tier  ;  my  salaries  have  been  small,  not  averaging, 
probably,  over  $500  a  year.  My  family  has  been 
larger  than  the  average.  Six  boys  and  three  girls 
have  been  brought  up  in  my  house  and  fed  at  my 
table.  Yet  our  wants  have  been  reasonably  sup. 
plied.  Our  bread  has  been  given  us  and  our  water 
made  sure.  My  note  has  always  been  good 
for  its  face,  and  my  ability  to  pay  unquestioned.  It 
is  true  I  have  passed  through  financial  straits,  like 
others,  but  the  vessel,  though  half  filled  with 
water,  did  not  go  down,  for  Christ  was  on  board 
and  she  outrode  the  storm. 

In  addition  to  self-support  the  bounteous  Lord 
has  given  me  ability  to  do  a  little  for  others. 
This  I  was  accustomed  to  do  even  while  in  college. 
I  kept  up  there  the  habit  of  giving  a  little  to  each 
passing  call.  I  did  this  not  only  to  help  along  the 
cause,  but  also  to  keep  my  heart  warm  toward  it. 
"  For  where  your  treasure  is  there  will  your  heart 
be  also." 

Brethren  in  the  ministry,  living  hard  by  me 
and  receiving  salaries  twice  as  large  as  mine,  did 
not  lay  up  half  as  much  per  year  as  I  did,  nor  do  I 
think  they  gave  more  than  I  did  away.  And  so  it 
came  to  pass,  "  He  that  gathered  much  had  nothing 
over,  and  he  that  gathered  little  had  no  lack." 
And  here  I  am,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-three, 
about  as  well  off  financially  as  I  desire  to  be  on 


RETURN  TO  OBERL1N.  89 

my  own  account.  And  it  is  quite  a  comfort  to  an 
old  man  to  be  so  situated  that  he  is  not  obliged  to 
look  to  children  or  friends  for  pecuniary  support 
when  the  working  days  of  life  are  over.  Better 
still  it  is  to  have  a  little  laid  aside  to  keep  up  one's 
habit  of  giving  till  the  Master  calls  him  home. 
To  me  it  seems  quite  desirable  that  young  clergy 
men  should  adopt  the  principle  of  laying  up  some 
thing  every  year,  if  possible,  against  a  rainy  day ; 
possibly  only  their  marriage  fees.  This,  in  time, 
and  other  small  sums  which  can  be  added  to  them, 
will,  in  the  course  of  thirt}^  or  forty  years,  amount 
to  a  quite  respectable  sum.  The  fact  that  many 
ministers  whose  friends  have  turned  every  way  to 
help  them  to  an  education  fail  to  lay  up  anything 
after  entering  the  ministry,  and  when  worn  out 
are  obliged  to  fall  back  helpless  upon  kind  friends 
and  parishioners,  brings  the  profession  into  sad 
reproach.  It  is  on  this  account  that  many  a  man 
says,  "  Let  my  son  be  anything  rather  than  a  pen 
niless  minister."  And  many  a  mother,  "  Let  my 
daughter  marry  a  respectable  man  of  any  profes 
sion  rather  than  a  minister."  We  do  not  object  to 
a  minister  being  poor  if  that  necessity  is  laid  upon 
him.  "  We  have  the  poor  with  us  always."  Pov 
erty,  when  legitimate,  is  no  reproach  whatever. 
But  it  is  a  reproach  to  a  man  when  it  comes  upon 
him  either  because  he  won't  work  or  will  not  be 
economical.  A  lecture  on  this  subject,  viz.,  the 
duty  of  being  economical  and  laying  aside  some 
thing  yearly,  if  possible,  to  meet  the  wants  of  age 


go  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

and  coming  infirmities,  would  be  quite  in  place  if 
delivered  to  a  class  of  theological  students  just 
before  going  out  to  their  fields  of  labor.  Is  there 
any  class  of  professional  men  so  improvident  as 
ministers?  How  many  there  are  who  receive 
large  salaries,  yet  never  lay  up  a  cent,  but  spend  all 
as  they  go  along. 

THREATENED   WITH   CONSUMPTION. 

In  the  last  part  of  my  Senior  year  I  had  a 
severe  attack  of  lung  fever.  It  left  me  with  a 
cough  so  settled  and  exhaustive  that  my  physician 
said  I  had  quick  consumption.  He  advised  my 
leaving  college  and  hastening  home.  Reluctantly 
I  came  to  the  same  conclusion,  and  prepared  to 
return  to  Connecticut,  expecting  to  die  soon  after 
I  got  there,  and  be  buried  by  the  sepulchers  of  my 
fathers.  How  affectionately  our  dear  President 
Mahan  and  the  other  professors  took  me  to  their 
homes  to  stay  with  them  a  few  days  before  I  bade 
them  a  final  farewell.  The  students,  too,  gathered 
closely  around  me  as  I  was  about  to  leave.  But 
most  of  all  my  dear  classmates  clave  to  me  as  with 
one  heart,  and  could  not  speak  the  word  farewell. 
One  of  them,  dear  Hiram  Hopkins,  went  with  me 
to  Elyria,  and  as  we  parted  he  held  my  hand  in  both 
of  his  and  said,  "  Good-bye,  good-bye,  brother  be 
loved,  it  is  not  likely  I  shall  ever  see  you  in  this 
world  again.  It  looks  as  if  the  Master  was  soon  to 
call  you  home.  We  grieve  that  we  shall  not  have 
your  help  in  preaching  the  gospel,  and  we  know 


RETURN   TO   OBERLIN.  91 

that  it  is  this  that  gives  this  parting  its  special  pain 
to  you.  But,  brother,  whensoever  we  rise  to 
preach  the  gospel,  we  will  think  that  there  is  one 
less  to  bear  the  message,  and  it  shall  stimulate  us 
to  greater  earnestness  and  zeal." 

Five  years  thereafter  I  stood  upon  his  grave  in 
Plattsburg,  N.  Y.,  and  read  the  inscription  on  his 
tombstone,  myself  a  preacher,  and  this  dear  class 
mate  lying  in  the  grave  so  low. 

President  Mahan  went  with  me  as  far  as  Cleve 
land,  and  his  words  of  cheer  and  words  of  love 
were  among  the  most  stimulating  and  hope-inspir 
ing  1  ever  heard. 

At  Buffalo  I  took  passage  on  a  canal  boat.  The 
boat  was  crowded  and,  when  night  came  all  the 
berths  were  occupied  so  that  none  was  left  for  me, 
and  I  was  obliged  to  sit  up  all  night.  There  was 
a  little  more  downright  piggishness  in  their  treat 
ment  of  a  sick  man  than  is  characteristic  of  Ameri 
cans.  Howbeit,  God  meant  it  for  good. 

Not  sleeping  during  the  night  I  escaped  those 
night  sweats  which  had  followed  me  since  my 
recovery  from  the  lung  fever,  and  which  were 
daily  reducing  my  strength  and  my  flesh.  The  next 
day  I  was  better  and  stronger.  The  night  follow 
ing  I  sat  up  again.  No  sweating  that  night  to 
speak  of,  and  so  on  till  I  reached  my  home  in  Con 
necticut.  Here  I  soon  got  rid  of  my  cough  and 
other  consumptive  indications.  I  have  the  impres 
sion  that  I  lost  the  use  of  one  lobe  of  the  lungs  in 
part  during  this  sickness,  as  my  voice  was  never 


92  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

afterward  as  strong  as  before.  I  resumed  my 
studies  under  the  tutorship  of  our  pastor,  Rev. 
Erastus  Colton,  and  so  kept  along  with  the  studies 
of  my  class,  that  when  they  graduated  I  received 
my  diploma  with  them. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  YEAR  IN    NEW   HAVEN   THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  I  entered  the  New  Haven 
Theological  Seminary.  During  the  year  of  my 
stay  there,  a  series  of  articles  appeared  in  the 
"Religious  Herald"  of  Hartford,  against  Oberlin. 
In  announcing  their  forthcoming,  the  editor 
assured  his  readers  that  now  at  length,  we  were 
about  to  learn  something  definite  and  reliable  about 
Oberlin,  as  the  writer  of  the  promised  articles 
was  a  clergyman  of  repute,  and  a  ripe  scholar.  I 
forbear  to  give  the  writer's  name,  as  he  is  truly  a 
good  man,  and  has  I  am  told,  long  since  become  a 
strong  friend  of  Oberlin.  When  the  first  article 
appeared,  it  seemed  to  me  so  faulty  and  vulnerable, 
that  I  ventured  a  reply.  I  signed  my  article — "A 
Member  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  New 
Haven."  It  was  published  with  editorial  commen 
dations  of  its  candor  and  Christian  spirit.  The 
many  corrections  I  made  in  the  statements  of  my 
opponent,  led  the  editor  to  remark,  "The  writer  is 
evidently  well  versed  in  the  history  of  Oberlin." 
But  no  one  surmised  who  the  writer  was.  The 
next  article  was  still  more  vulnerable  and  the  reply 
so  complete,  that  Rev.  H.  G.  Ludlow,  one  of 
the  New  Haven  pastors,  said  to  me,  "That  student 

(93) 


94  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

has  completely  vindicated  Oberlin.     Professor 

had  better  stop  writing."  So  the  discussion  went 
on,  till  the  editor  said  in  effect,  that  as  no  case  had 
been  made  out  against  Oberlin,  or  was  likely  to 
be,  he  thought  the  discussion  had  best  be  closed. 
The  authorship  of  these  letters  being  traced  to 
my  door,  not  a  little  discussion  arose  between  me 
and  the  other  students  over  the  Oberlin  doctrines, 
experiences  and  practices.  As  New  Haven  was 
New  School  in  its  theology,  and  as  Oberlin  in  its 
doctrines  was  but  an  inevitable  resultant  of  its 
cardinal  principles,  my  classmates  found  great 
difficulty  in  escaping  conclusions  I  was  daily  forc 
ing  upon  them  by  inexorable  logic.  We  began  to 
congregate  a  little  before  the  lecture  hours  to 
discuss  those  questions.  Finally  we  gathered 
half  an  hour  previous,  such  was  the  interest  felt, 
and  warmly  we  debated  the  matter.  Few  took 
sides  with  Oberlin,  but  scarcely  any  two  could 
agree  upon  an  argument  in  opposition  to  it.  At 
length  a  public  discussion  of  the  question  was 
loudly  called  for.  Four  speakers  were  selected  to 
open  the  debate,  and  Dr.  Taylor  was  to  close  with 
a  lecture  on  the  subject.  Myself  and  another 
were  to  speak  for  Oberlin — a  Mr.  Griswold  and 
another  to  present  the  other  side.  Mr.  Griswold 
was  a  man  I  greatly  respected.  He  was  in  the 
Senior  class  and  soon  to  graduate  and  go  on  a  mis 
sion  to  Africa.  He  was  a  fine  scholar,  a  powerful 
reasoner,  an  impressive  public  speaker,  and  there 
was  not  a  student  in  the  seminary  of  more  promise 


NEW  HAVEN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.         95 

than  he,  if  I  except  Joseph  P.  Thompson,  or  "Tab 
ernacle  Thompson,"  as  he  was  afterward  called.  I 
went  at  once  to  Griswold's  room  and  said :  "This 
debate  about  the  Oberlin  ideal,  or  the  possibilities 
of  the  Christian  life  will  be  mainly  between  you 
and  me.  Our  partners  have  little  heart  in  the 
matter.  I  propose  that  you  and  I  spend  some 
evenings  privately  canvassing  the  matter.  That 
we  clear  away  the  rubbish,  ascertain  the  points  of 
agreements  and  differences  and  reduce  them  to  a 
minimum,  and  on  these  spend  our  strength  when 
the  debate  comes  off."  He  consented.  We  prayed 
together  and  a  number  of  evenings  of  very  candid 
and  careful  discussion  followed.  In  one  of  them 
I  related  my  experience.  It  affected  him  deeply. 
Nearer  and  nearer  we  came  together.  The  even 
ing  before  the  debate  was  to  come  off  I  called.  He 
said,  "Bristol,  I  cannot  speak  to-morrow  evening!" 
"But  you  must,"  I  said:  "I  cannot  do  without  you." 
"No !"  said  he,  "I  dare  not  go.  Should  I  go  and 
utter  honestly  my  real  convictions,  as  they  are  now,  I 
should  defend  what  our  professors  and  the  churches 
generally  regard  as  'Oberlin  heresy.'  So  wide  a 
departure  from  the  opinions  of  men  I  so  deeply 
respect,  should  not  be  hastily  made.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  I  array  against  Oberlin  all  the  argu 
ments  I  can  think  of,  the  most  of  which  I  know  to 
be  fallacious,  I  fear  the  results  on  myself  and  others. 
I  fear  I  shall  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  by  so  doing." 
I  said  no  more,  for  I  deeply  respected  his  honesty 
and  conscientiousness.  The  discussion  came  off 


g  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  was  followed  by  a  lecture  read  by  Dr.  Taylor. 
But  it  had  little  relevancy  to  the  Oberlin  doctrine 
of  Christian  holiness.  It  was  prepared  years 
before,  to  meet  a  phase  of  the  subject  which  had 
little  in  common  with  that  held  at  Oberlin  or  pre 
sented  by  me  that  evening.  When  the  vote  was 
taken,  four  hands  were  raised  for  Oberlin  and  three 
against  it.  The  general  feeling  was  that  both  the 
lecture  and  the  arguments  used  against  Finney's 
views  and  those  of  Oberlin  were  very  unsatisfac 
tory.  Hence  all  save  a  few  refused  to  vote.  The 
Doctor  was  chagrined,  and  said  with  spirit :  "If 
you  wish  the  papers  to  publish,  that  at  a  debate  on 
the  subject  of  Oberlin  Perfectionism  Oberlin  was 
sustained,  then  refuse  to  vote ;  if  not,  then  say  so 
by  raising  your  hands."  Under  this  pressure,  a 
large  majority  voted  against  Oberlin. 

TWO  SINGULAR  CONVERSIONS. 

In  one  of  the  vacations,  Bro.  Stevens  and  I  went 
up  to  Cheshire  and  while  there  attended  some 
neighborhood  meetings.  In  one  of  them,  held  in 
the  southwest  part  of  the  town,  owing  to  the  pros 
pect  of  rain,  there  were  but  four  persons  present, 
besides  myself  and  Mr.  Stevens.  Of  these  two 
were  members  of  the  church.  The  other  two  were 
sisters,  daughters  of  a  well-to-do  farmer,  but  who 
was  a  pronounced  infidel.  As  there  were  so  few 
present,  I  proposed  that  each  tell  his  experience  in 
the  narrow  way.  Stevens  and  I  each  told  how  it 
had  gone  with  us  since  our  conversion.  No  one 


NEW   HAVEN   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY.         97 

else  took  any  part.  We  walked  home  in  the  dark 
ness  and  drizzling  rain  some  four  miles,  feeling 
that  we  had  labored  in  vain  and  spent  our  strength 
for  nought.  Not  so,  for  the  next  day  these  two 
girls  rode  five  miles  under  deep  conviction  of  sin, 
to  ask  our  pastor  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved. 
Nor  was  it  long  before  they  were  active  in  the 
Master's  vineyard.  "Blessed  are  they  that  sow 
beside  all  waters !"  The  remembrance  of  the 
results  of  that  discouraging  meeting  went  with 
me  for  many  a  day. 

RETURNING  TO  OBERLIN. 

At  the  close  of  my  Junior  year  I  concluded  to 
return  to  Oberlin  and  there  finish  my  theological 
studies.  I  did  this  because  of  the  superior  religious 
privileges  enjoyed  there,  where  one  breathed  the 
atmosphere  of  nearly  a  perpetual  revival,  and  also 
because  being  one  with  them  in  theological  belief 
and  reformatory  measures,  I  felt  it  my  duty  to 
share  with  them  the  burden  of  reproach  their  posi 
tion  brought  upon  them.  So  I  went  back  and 
entered  the  Middle  year. 

LICENSED  AND    PREACHING  IN   CENTRAL  OHIO. 

When  the  winter  vacation  commenced,  the 
Oberlin  Theological  Faculty  received  a  letter  from 
the  Congregational  Church  Association  of  Central 
Ohio,  asking  that  two  young  men,  under-gradu- 
ates,  should  be  recommended  to  them  for  the  pur 
pose  of  assisting  in  a  series  of  revival  meet- 

7 


98  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

ings,  to  be  held  in  their  bounds  under  the  leader 
ship  of  Rev.  John  T.  Avery,  a  noted  and  suc 
cessful  evangelist.  The  Faculty  recommended 
myself  and  a  classmate,  Mr.  Samuel  D.  Cochran. 

We  went  down  to  Mansfield,  where  the  Asso 
ciation  held  its  annual  meeting.  We  were  exam 
ined  and  licensed.  I  was  appointed  to  preach  the 
sermon.  My  text  was,  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God 
and  Mammon ;"  and  the  central  thought,  "  It  is 
impossible  to  walk  astride  the  line  which  divides 
the  service  of  God  from  that  of  Satan, "-or  the 
only  acceptable  state,  that  in  which  we  intend  to 
walk  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
the  Lord.  It  awakened  some  discussion,  but  the 
majority  acquiesced  in  it. 

We  were  at  once  set  to  work  in  Mt.  Vernon, 
Knox  county,  visiting  from  house  to  house,  and 
holding  schoolhouse  conference  meetings.  Mr. 
Avery,  in  the  meantime,  was  preaching  daily  to  a 
large  congregation  in  the  Congregational  church  in 
that  city.  An  extensive  revival  attended,  us  usual, 
Mr.  Avery's  meetings.  The  work  spread  abroad, 
and  Brother  Cochran  and  I  followed  it  up,  into 
surrounding  townships.  In  one  of  them,  that  of 
Liberty,  it  was  especially  powerful.  The  whole 
population  was  moved,  and  great  numbers  were 
converted  ;  but  there  were  many  adversaries. 

LIFE  THREATENED. 

It  was  a  rude  backwoods  settlement,  and   we 
often   assailed  by  other  weapons  than  argu- 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


NEW  HAVEN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.         i#9 

ments.  I  did  most  of  the  visiting — that  being  my 
forte,  while  Mr.  Cochran  did  most  of  the  preach 
ing,  he  being  much  the  abler,  in  that  line.  I  vis 
ited  nearly  all  the  time  by  day,  and  in  the  evening 
conducted  the  prayer-meeting  before  and  after  ser 
mon.  God's  power  was  manifest  and  many  hard 
ened  men  and  women  bowed  before  Him,  who  in 
the  days  of  His  flesh,  cast  out  devils,  and  healed  all 
manner  of  disease  among  the  people. 

One  morning-  before  I  had  risen,  the  man  at 
whose  house  I  was  staying,  came  to  my  room  and 
said,  "  A  boy  at  the  door  has  a  message  for  you." 

When  I  went  out,  a  rough  looking  boy  of  some 
thirteen  years,  accosted  me  thus : 

"  My  pa  says  he  will  shoot  you,  if  you  come  to 
his  house." 

"Where  does  your  father  live  ? "  I  asked. 

"Over  there  ;  "  he  said,  pointing  to  a  log  house 
on  another  street. 

Making  sure  of  the  house,  I  said  in  my  bland 
est  tones, — "  Yes,  tell  your  father  I  will  try  to  be 
there  by  nine  o'clock." 

For  a  moment  the  boy  seemed  dazed  with  as 
tonishment  ;  then  swelling  with  wrath, said, — "He 
will  put  a  ball  through  you  ;  he  will." 

"Yes,  yes;"  I  said,  as  pleasantly  as  if  invited  to 
a  wedding,  "  tell  him  I  will  try  to  be  there  by  nine 
o'clock." 

This  so  disgusted  the  boy  that  he  would  have 
nothing  more  to  say  to  me,  and  went  off  mutter 
ing  something  I  could  not  hear. 


IOO  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

My  host  overheard  the  boy's  message  and  be 
sought  me  not  to  go,  as  the  man  was  a  desperate 
fellow  that  did  little  else  than  hunt  and  shed  blood. 

Breakfast  over,  I  started  across  lots  through 
the  snow  for  the  man's  house.  When  some  eighty 
rods  distant,  I  saw  the  man,  rifle  in  hand,  standing 
between  his  log  house  and  straw  barn,  and  made 
for  him  with  quickened  pace.  I  suspect  the  agil 
ity  with  which  I  vaulted  over  a  high  rail  fence, 
rather  startled  him,  for  he  immediately  shied  be 
hind  a  straw  stack.  But  I  was  soon  there  ;  looked 
into  the  barn,  went  around  the  stack,  seeking  my 
man,  but  he  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  But  I  ob 
served  some  tracks  in  the  snow,  leading  directly 
back  into  the  woods.  I  turned  back  to  the  log  house, 
and  there  sat  a  sad  faced  and  forlorn  looking  wo 
man,  scantily  clad  and  surrounded  by  half-a-dozen 
children  as  poorly  clad  as  she  was.  I  shook  hands 
with  her  and  addressed  her  kindly,  as  if  an  old  ac 
quaintance.  I  recognized  her  as  one  who  had 
come  forward  an  evening  before  to  ask  for  the 
prayers  of  God's  people.  I  .suspect  that  was  the 
cause  of  her  husband's  wrath.  I  made  no  allu 
sion  to  his  message,  but  begun  at  once  to  talk  with 
her  about  the  great  curse  of  sin,  and  of  Christ  as 
our  deliverer  ;  of  his  great  love  for  us  ;  his  readi 
ness  to  receive,  and  his  patience  with  those  who 
enter  his  hospital,  and  seek  his  help.  Soon  she 
began  to  look  up — she  began  to  hope.  Her  fear 
of  her  husband  was  gone.  Had  she  not  seen  him 
flee  when  no  man  pursued  ?  Where  were  his 


NEW  HAVEN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY        IOI 

threatenings  to  shoot  and  to  kill  ?  Surely  he  was 
not  omnipotent. 

Well,  after  talking  to  her  as  a  brother,  and 
leading  her  to  the  Saviour,  we  knelt  in  prayer  and 
she  professedly  gave  her  heart  to  the  dear  Re 
deemer. 

But  that  boy,  who  brought  the  message !  There 
he  sat  in  the  chimney  corner,  silent  and  wrathful. 
His  eyes  glared  at  me  occasionally,  like  those  of  a 
young  wolf.  While  I  was  praying,  he  started  out 
of  the  house.,  and  as  there  was  an  axe  close  to  the 
door,  it  occurred  to  me  that  he  might  seize  it  and 
split  my  head  open  while  we  prayed.  So  I  had 
to  keep  one  eye  half  open,  contrary  to  my  custom, 
and  watched  while  I  prayed.  But  he  did  not 
come  back.  Like  his  father  he  hid,  and  I  saw  him 
no  more. 

From  this  house  I  went  to  the  next,  and  there 
I  saw  my  man  of  the  rifle  with  two  other  men. 
I  at  once  introduced  myself  in  a  pleasant  and  lively 
way,  and  soon  we  were  upon  the  great  topic  of  re 
ligion.  They  all  took  part  in  the  conversation,  and 
became  greatly  interested.  They  wanted  I  should 
talk  with  a  neighbor  about  it,  and  we  all  went  to 
see  him.  It  was  almost  as  good  as  an  inquiry 
meeting,  and  before  we  closed,  they  all  knelt  and 
I  prayed  with  them.  When  I  left  they  all  prom 
ised  to  attend  the  meetings  and  to  give  the  great 
matter  their  first  attention.  If  my  memory  serves 
me,  two  at  least  of  these,  soon  gave  evidence  of 
regeneration. 


102  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

On  another  occasion,  in  another  part  of  the 
township,  I  called  at  a  house  in  the  depth  of  the 
forest.  The  woman  was  under  deep  conviction, 
and  felt  herself  the  chief  of  sinners.  Before  I  left 
her  burden  rolled  off,  and  she  felt  that  her  sins, 
which  were  many,  were  forgiven  her.  I  asked  for 
her  husband.  She  said  he  was  off  still  further  in 
the  forest,  clearing  a  piece  of  land  ;  but  she  begged 
me  not  to  seek  him,  as  he  was  terribly  angry  about 
this  revival;  refused  to  let  her  go  to  meeting,  and 
she  was  afraid  he  would  kill  me.  Soon  after  leav 
ing  the  house,  I  heard  the  crash  of  a  tree  falling, 
away  in  the  forest.  It  occurred  to  me,  the  man 
was  there  ;  so  I  left  the  path  and  went  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  sound,  and  soon  saw  him  chopping  off 
the  butt  log  of  a  large  tree.  I  had  seen  him  at  a 
meeting  and  recognized  him  by  his  long  hair  and 
beard.  The  top  limbs  had  been  broken  by  the 
fall,  and  I  got  upon  the  body  and  walked  down 
the  trunk  toward  him.  He  stared  at  me  sternly. 
Advancing,  I  asked  pleasantly,  "  Is  this  Mr.  So- 
and-So  ? "  "Yes,"  he  answered  gruffly,  as  if  he 
would  say,  "  What  business  is  that  of  yours  ? 
Are  you  come  hither  to  torment  me  before  the 
time?  " 

But  I  shook  hands  with  him,  told  him  who  I 
was,  that  I  had  just  called  at  his  house,  and  then  I 
asked  if  he  had  cut  down  the  great  tree  that  morn 
ing.  "  He  must  be  a  No.  i  chopper,  let  me  try  his 
axe."  Reluctantly  he  handed  it  to  me  and  I  plied 
it  vigorously,  cutting  down  the  half  he  had  begun. 


NEW  HAVEN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.       103 

This  put  me  on  a  sympathetic  plane  with  him. 
I  could  swing  an  axe  ;  I  knew  the  heart  of  a  chop 
per.  Of  course  I  did  not  feel  above  him,  I  praised 
his  work  and  his  judgment  in  the  selection  of  an 
axe.  By  this  time  we  were  on  good  terms,  his  con 
fidence  was  won,  and  then  we  sat  down  on  the 
log  and  I  talked  to  him  of  the  Great  Redeemer, 
of  the  Christian's  life,  his  deathbed,  his  heaven 
above,  his  endless  life  over  yonder. 

The  stalwart  and  bronzed  faced  chopper  bowed 
his  head  and  wept.  "  Alas,"  he  said,  "  I  am  too 
great  a  sinner,  there  is  no  hope  for  me."  But  I 
told  him  of  One  who  came  to  save  the  chief  of  sin 
ners,  and  who  could  save  unto  the  uttermost  all 
who  would  come  unto  God  by  Him.  And  when  I 
left  him  he  promised  to  attend  the  meeting,  that 
he  would  try,  at  least,  to  find  the  Saviour,  and  that 
he  would  not  hinder  his  wife  in  her  endeavor  to 
lead  a  Christian  life.  With  a  warm  shake  of  the 
hand  and  tears  in  his  eyes  I  parted  with  him  in  the 
forest. 

As  I  went  on  my  way  how  vividly  came  before 
me  the  story  in  the  Gospels,  of  the  Master's  meet 
ing  with  the  maniac  of  Gadara.  "  Coming  out  of 
the  tombs,  exceeding  fierce,  so  that  no  man  might 
pass  by  that  way,  and  who  cried  out,  '  What  have 
I  to  do  with  this  Jesus,  thou  Son  of  God  most 
high;  art  thou  come  to  torment  me  before  the 
time  ?' "  Yet  before  Jesus  left  him  he  was  changed 
into  another  man,  and  besought  Jesus  that  he 
might  be  with  him. 


IO4  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

• 

Not  to  elongate  the  narration  ol  incidents  in 
these  revival  labors,  I  will  but  add  that  the  num 
ber  of  converts  in  these  schoolhouse  meetings  was 
so  large  that,  in  addition  to  those  who  joined  other 
churches,  there  was  formed  a  Congregational 
Church  of  respectable  size,  and  a  house  of  wor 
ship  was  erected  by  them  the  following  year. 

The  winter  vacation  being  now  over  my  class 
mate  and  1  returned  to  Oberlin,  greatly  enriched 
in  joyful  experiences,  but  poorer  in  purse  and  in 
wardrobe  than  when  we  left  for  Mansfield.  The 
people  where  we  labored  were  poor,  largely 
recent  emigrants,  and  all  they  had  was  locked  up 
in  land,  and  money  was  very  scarce.  We  did  not 
blame  them  at  all.  We  had  received  at  the  Lord's 
hand,  a  reward  far  above  silver  or  gold. 

The  financial  prospects  for  the  opening  long 
term  of  nine  months  were  dark.  But,  as  I  went 
forward  ways  of  earning  money  opened  before  me, 
and  when  the  nine  months  had  gone  by,  in  looking 
back,  I  was  reminded  of  our  Lord's  question  to 
his  disciples,  and  their  reply,  viz.:  "  When  I  sent 
you  without  purse  or  scrip,  lacked  you  anything  ? 
and  they  answered,  Nothing." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FRANKLIN,  PORTAGE  COUNTY,    OHIO. 

At  the  end  of  the  Middle  year  I  was  invited  to 
spend  the  winter  in  Franklin,  preaching  to  the 
Congregational  Church  there.  The  church  was 
quite  demoralized  by  causes  I  need  not  mention, 
and  was  in  a  sadly  backslidden  condition.  Arriv 
ing  there  early  in  the  week  I  quickly  took  in  the 
situation.  The  first  sermon  was  from  the  text, 
"  Come,  and  let  us  return  to  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 
torn  and  he  will  heal  us.  He  hath  smitten  and  he 
will  bind  us  up.  After  two  days  will  he  revive 
us,  and  the  third  day  we  shall  live  in  his  sight." 
The  appropriateness  of  this  text  to  their  condition, 
and  the  tender  and  earnest  application  that  fol 
lowed,  won  me  a  place  at  once  in  their  confidence 
and  respect. 

There  was  not  a  word  of  scolding,  not  an 
attempt  to  show  off  a  little  smartness  by  some 
keen  sarcastic  expressions.  They  were  addressed 
by  one  who  spoke  as  if  he  realized  he  himself  was 
encompassed  by  infirmities. 

I  at  once  commenced  a  course  of  visitation 
from  house  to  house,  usually  closing  up  a  visit 
through  a  school  district  with  an  evening  lecture 
in  the  schoolhouse.  One  of  these  lectures  was  in 

(105) 


IO6  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

a  school  district  where  Campbellites,  or  Disciples, 
predominated.  Those  who  know  them  well,  as 
they  were  in  those  days,  will  not  be  surprised  that 
the  text  I  selected  as  specially  appropriate,  was  this: 
"  They  have  healed  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my 
people  slightly,  saying  Peace,  peace,  when  there  is 
no  peace." 

There  was  a  large  turnout,  and  the  house  was 
filled.  The  discourse  ran  somewhat  thus:  ist. 
The  hurt  of  God  creation  is  sin,  the  refusal  to 
obey  God.  2d.  The  quack  prescriptions  palmed 
off  upon  sinners  by  devils  and  their  human  agents 
to  cure  the  dread  disease.  3d.  Repentance,  faith 
in  Christ,  and  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
only  and  the  sovereign  remedy. 

Of  course  I  did  not  speak  very  commendatorily 
of  the  doctrine  that  merely  intellectual  belief  in 
the  historic  Christ,  outward  morality  and  water 
baptism  was  a  settlement  of  the  matter  between 
the  soul  and  God.  But  I  denounced  it  as  healing 
the  hurt  slightly,  leaving  the  dread  cancer  as  lively 
as  ever,  doing  its  work  of  death. 

When  about  to  dismiss  the  congregation,  a  tall 
man  arose  and  asked  if  I  was  not  going  to  allow 
some  one  to  reply  to  my  remarks.  I  said  this  was 
not  a  meeting  called  for  a  debate,  but  for  a  lecture 
on  a  religious  topic.  He  answered,  that  most  peo 
ple  nowadays  believed  in  free  discusion.  It  was 
plain  that  the  young  man  who  has  spoken  to  us 
to-night  does  not  believe  in  it.  Well !  he  did  not 
blame  "the  young  man"  for  being  averse  to  a  dis- 


FRANKLIN,    PORTAGE   COUNTY,    OHIO.          IO? 

cussion,  after  such  a  discourse  as  he  had  given  us 
this  evening.  Could  he  have  fifteen  minutes,  he 
would  overthrow  every  one  of  his  positions  and  not 
leave  a  grease  spot  of  them.  Up  to  this  time  I  had 
kept  my  eyes  on  the  floor  and  I  presume  they 
thought  "the  young  man"  was  frightened.  I  now 
looked  up  and  advancing  a  little  said  :  "I  am  not  ac 
quainted  with  this  Goliath  of  Gath  or  some  other 
place,  who  boasts  that  he  can  do  such  great  things, 
but  I  know  that  as  a  rule,  such  boasters  as  he 
and  provokers  of  strife  and  debate,  are  the  last  men 
in  the  world  to  make  good  their  pretensions.  I 
propose  to  test  this  man  and  see  if  he  does  not 
come  under  that  rule.  I  definitely  accept  your 
challenge  and  ask  the  people  to  stay  by  and  listen 
candidly  till  this  debate  is  over,  and  see  whether 
he  is  able  to  overthrow  all  the  positions  taken  in 
the  discourse  this  evening.  And  now  sir,  I  will 
sit  down  and  give  you  the  fifteen  minutes  you  ask 
for  and  five  minutes  more.  And  don't  wander  off 
upon  other  topics,  but  stick  to  your  points  and 
show  this  people  that  sin  is  not  the  great  hurt  of 
God's  people.  That  the  quack  medicines  I  de 
nounced  are  good  and  will  cure  the  evil,  and  lastly, 
that  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ  and  regenera 
tion  by  the  Holy  Ghost  are  not  the  only  remedy." 
I  sat  down,  watch  in  hand,  and  gave  the  time. 
Campbellites  have  improved  immensely  since  then 
but  in  those  days  they  were  intensely  fond  of  dis 
cussion  and  some  of  them  responded  "Good,  good!" 
The  tall  man  rose,  bowed  low,  squared  off  into 


108  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

speaking  attitude  and  began  a  wordy  preamble 
which  lasted  perhaps  five  minutes.  When  I  called 
him  to  order  and  said,  "Unless  you  can  confine  your 
remarks  to  the  points  under  discussion,  I  propose 
that  we  adjourn,"  he  asked  me  to  re-state  the 
points  of  my  discourse.  I  did  so  in  terse  language 
and  promptly.  He  then  took  up  the  first :  "Sin 
the  hurt  of  God's  people."  Several  times  he 
repeated  it  in  tones  designed  to  make  it  ridiculous. 
Said  there  are  many  other  evils,  poverty,  sickness, 
etc.,  etc.,  magnified  these,  and  treated  sin  as  less 
than  they.  His  time  up  I  replied  that  "sin  ante 
dated  human  existence  and  human  woe.  It  had  a 
horrid  history  before  Adam's  fall.  Before  man 
there  was  a  devil  and  his  angels !  whence  come 
they  ?  They  fell  from  lofty  places !  Th'ey  were  once 
holy  angels,  but  by  sin  they  fell!  were  cast  out  of 
heaven  and  hell  was  made  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels.  If  sin  is  a  trifle,  look  up  to  the  heaven  they 
lost  by  it  and  down  into  the  hell  it  prepared  for 
them.  What  did  sin  to  our  first  parents  ?  Drove 
them  from  Eden,  thenceforth  in  shame  and  sorrow 
to  tread  a  thorny  road  till  death  came  to  their 
relief !  Pass  on  and  behold  it  corrupting  the  whole 
race  till  it  repented  God  that,  he  had  made  man, 
because  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  man's 
heart  was  evil  and  only  evil,  continually.  Go  take 
your  stand  on  Ararat  and  look  over  the  waste  of 
waters  whose  black  waves  roll  over  the  whole  hab 
itable  world,  drowning  all  its  millions,  with  the 
exception  of  one  family !  What  was  it  for  ?  What 


FRANKLIN,   TORTAGE   COUNTY,   OHIO.          IOQ 

was  it  for?  Was  it  brought  on  by  a  trifle?  What 
does  this  awful  scene  indicate  is  God's  opinion 
about  sin?  Is  it  to  be  sneered  at?  To  be  made 
the  subject  of  a  joke  like  those  you  tried  to  pass 
off  u  pon  us  ?  Nobody  laughed  at  your  stale  words ! 
They  were  ashamed  of  you — you,  a  preacher  of 
the  Gospel,  speaking  of  sin  as  a  small  evil.  What 
do  you  mean  by  it  ?"  Some  one  cried  out  "Time" 
and  I  sat  down.  I  was  getting  well  aroused.  I 
suspect  the  congregation  would  have  left,  a  part 
at  least,  had  not  the  rain  begun  to  fall  in  torrents. 
Most  of  the  speech  the  tall  man  made  in  reply  was 
of  the  nature  of  an  apology  for  an  apparent  attempt 
to  make  men  laugh  at  certain  forms  of  sin.  Of 
course  he  made  no  headway  in  refuting  any  of  the 
positions  I  had  taken  in  the  discourse.  His  time 
up,  I  resumed  my  portrayal  of  the  dark  history  of 
sin.  We  looked  with  Abraham  over  burning 
Sodom,  Adma,  Zeboim  and  Gomorrah.  Then  at 
the  plagues  of  Egypt  and  the  catastrophe  of  the 
Red  Sea !  Then  at  the  destruction  of  the  seven 
nations  of  Canaan,  and  so  on  till  we  came  to  Cal 
vary's  Cross  and  looked  up  into  the  marred  visage 
of  the  Great  Sufferer  there !  And  as  we  stood 
there  we  asked  what  was  it  brought  him  here? 
Was  it  a  trifle?  What  means  that  rending  veil? 
What  the  sun's  veiled  face?  What  the  rending 
rocks  and  earthquake  ?  What  the  most  plaintive 
cry  earth  ever  heard — "Eloi !  Eloi !  Lama !  Sabac, 
thani!"— "My  God  !  My  God!  why  hast  thou  for 
saken  me  ?"  What  does  all  this  express  as  to  God's 


110  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

view  of  sin?  Again  I  resumed  my  seat.  My 
opponent  said  he  thought  the  debate  had  better 
close.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  nothing  more  to  say 
to  make  good  his  assertion  that  he  could  overthrow 
every  one  of  my  positions.  Which  one  of  them 
had  he  invalidated  in  the  least?  He  said  he  had 
nothing  more  to  say.  So  I  resumed  the  topic  I 
was  last  upon,  and  spoke  some  fifteen  minutes. 
The  rain  ceased  and  the  meeting  closed,  where 
upon  there  was  an  outburst  of  indignant  voices 
pouring  a  torrent  of  hot  words  on  the  head  of  my 
tall  antagonist.  I  got  out  of  the  din  as  soon  as 
possible  and  left  for  home.  But  as  I  passed  out  I 
heard  one  say  to  him,  "I  am  ashamed  of  you  !  You 
disgraced  us  all !  But  you  got  a  good  thrashing 
and  I  am  glad  of  it."  Another  said,  "The  next 
time  you  provoke  a  fight  with  a  stranger,  you  first 
find  out  who  he  is."  When  a  rod  or  so  from  the 
house,  I  heard  a  female  voice  over  all  the  rest, 
crying  out  in  a  high  key,  "You  called  him  the  young 
man.  Who  is  the  young  man  now  ?"  But  I  was 
soon  out  of  hearing,  hastening  homeward  through 
the  mud.  The  good  Deacon  Burt,  with  whom  I 
boarded,  laughed  ail  the  way  home. 

That  debate  helped  me  not  a  little.  The  story 
of  the  debate  spread  all  over  town  and  I  noticed 
that  the  principal  men  of  the  town  treated  me  as 
if  I  had  suddenly  grown  several  years  older. 
Everybody  seemed  to  know  me  after  that,  and  new 
faces  began  to  appear  in  church.  The  large  Dis 
ciple  Church  in  Franklin  sent  me  an  invitation  to 


FRANKLIN,    PORTAGE   COUNTY,   OHIO.          It  I 

preach  them  a  sermon.  But  I  declined,  deeming 
it  mainly  complimentary  and  designed  to  show 
me  their  hearty  disapproval  of  the  coarse  attack 
of  their  conceited  and  pugnacious  elder. 

ANTI-SLAVERY   CONTROVERSY. 

Not  very  long  after  this  debate  with  one  out 
side  our  church  there  arose  a  discussion  in  our  own 
house  over  the  question  of  slavery.  And  this  is 
what  precipitated  it.  We  had  in  our  church  a 
man  who  was  wont  to  make  himself  very  promi 
nent  in  all  its  public  affairs.  This  was  true,  also,  in 
town  matters.  Col.  Holden  must  always  have  his 
say  and  usually  his  way  as  well. 

It  happened  in  one  of  my  discourses  on  the 
ever  increasing  difficulties  in  the  way  of  escape 
from  a  sinful  life  that  I  illustrated  it  by  an  incident 
taken  from  slave  life  in  the  South.  It  was  that  of 
a  slave  in  Kentucky.  He  longed  for  liberty  and 
often  looked  across  the  Ohio  River  and  said,  "One 
day  I  will  be  there."  One  day  he  broke  away 
from  his  master,  got  across  the  river,  but  was 
re-captured  and  taken  back.  His  master  soon 
sold  him  farther  South  to  a  planter  down  in  Ten 
nessee.  He  again  tried  to  escape  but  the  blood 
hounds  tracked  him  to  his  hiding  place  ;  manacled 
he  was  driven  back  and  sent  into  North  Alabama. 
Next  he  was  sold  to  a  Louisiana  planter,  taken  to 
a  rice  field  in  sight  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  there 
all  hope  of  freedom  went  out  in  his  soul.  So  it  is 
with  sinful  man  ;  he  is  going  south  every  day  and 


112  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

the  sunshine  of  hope  is  becoming  more  and  more 
dim,  every  day  of  his  life.  I  have  no  doubt  there 
was  that  in  my  manner  and  tones  while  giving  the 
illustration  which  showed  that  I  had  no  special 
love  for  the  peculiar  institution  or  of  respect  for 
its  apologists  and  advocates.  As  the  congrega 
tion  rose  to  receive  the  benediction,  Col.  Holden 
asked  the  congregation  to  be  seated  as  he  had 
something  to  say.  I  remember  his  words:  "We 
like  our  young  minister  very  well,"  he  began.  "  He 
preaches  us  good  sermons,  and  I  am  glad  to  see 
the  church  is  filling  up.  But  I  am  sorry  he  has 
introduced  politics  into  his  sermon  to-day.  I 
hope  the  audience  will  continue  to  come  and  I  will 
assure  them  they  will  not  be  troubled  with  it  any 
more." 

When  he  sat  down  I  said  the  audience  would 
bear  me  witness,  that  I  had  only  used  slavery,  civil 
slavery,  "  as  an  illustration  of  moral  slavery.  That 
the  Bible  did  the  same  when  it  spoke  of  the  slavery 
of  sin.  That  I  had  no  idea  that  the  people  of 
Franklin  were  so  much  in  love  with  Southern 
slavery  that  they  would  not  allow  a  preacher  to 
touch  it,  even  with  a  ten  foot  pole.  Had  I  dreamed 
I  was  in  the  midst  of  such  a  pro-slavery  people  as 
Col.  Holden  represents  you  to  be,  I  would  have 
preached  upon  it  long  ago.  But  I  'don't  believe 
he  represents  you  rightly.  But,  perhaps,  there 
are  some,  a  few,  who  are  of  his  way  of  thinking. 
I  now  give  notice  that  on  the  next  Sabbath  you 
may  expect  two  sermons  outright  upon  the  sub- 


FRANKLIN,   PORTAGE  COUNTY,   OHIO.          113 

ject  of  American  slavery,  its  enormous  wicked 
ness,  and  our  duties  in  relation  to  it.  You  will  be 
dismissed." 

Great  was  the  excitement  as  the  congregation 
moved  out  of  church.  The  majority  seemed  to  re 
gard  Col.  Holden  as  having  needlessly  provoked 
a  discussion  :  "Why  could  he  not  hold  still?" — 
"  There  was  nothing  offensive  in  the  illustration. " 
"  Sorry  he  is  going  to  preach  on  the  subject.  " 
"  Well,  I  am  going  to  hear  him  any  way,"  etc.,  etc. 

1  did  little  visiting  that  week,  but  gave  myself 
wholly  to  preparing  two  sermons,  exposing  the  na 
ture  and  wickedness  of  slavery,  the  woes  it  inflicts 
on  both  master  and  slave,  and  the  extent  of  our 
responsibility  for  it  here  in  the  North.  I  knew  the 
brick  church  would  be  crowded,  and  very  likely 
this  would  be  my  last  opportunity  to  address  them 
on  the  subject,  for  I  fully  expected  to  receive  my 
walking  papers  at  once  after  preaching  two  out- 
and-out  Abolition  sermons.  So  I  asked  the  Lord 
to  enable  me  to  crowd  as  much  truth  as  possible 
into  those  two  discourses.  By  Saturday  night  I 
was  like  a  bottle  ready  to  burst  with  fermenting 
wine.  I  longed  for  the  Sabbath  to  come.  I  slept 
little  Saturday  night  and  had  no  appetite  for  food 
Sabbath  morning,  but  I  felt  within  strong  as  a  lion, 
and  I  longed  for  the  coming  battle. 

When  I  entered  the  church,  I  could  scarcely 
hold  in,  but  I  put  on  a  curbed  bit  and  spoke  as 
slow  and  deliberate  and  unexcited  as  I  could, 
especially  at  the  first,  till  my  audience  gradually 


114  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

became  heated  up  with  me,  and  then  I  poured  out 
my  arguments  without  stint.  And  I  did  not  stand 
on  the  defensive ;  I  became  the  attacking  party, 
and  assailed  the  horrid  monster  as  I  would  drive 
a  pack  of  wolves  from  my  fold  of  lambs.  When 
I  came  to  speak  of  the  attempt  of  corrupt  politi 
cians  to  come  into  God's  sanctuary,  and  there 
dictate  to  God's  anointed  embassadors  what  they 
should  say,  and  what  not,  in  regard  to  the  sale 
and  enslavement  of  His  redeemed  children,  I  think 
Col.  Holden  thought  he  was  in  the  prisoner's 
box,  indeed.  When  I  sat  down,  of  one  thing  I 
felt  sure,  no  one  had  any  doubt  where  I  stood  on 
the  great  question.  The  afternoon  discourse  was 
more  mild.  On  some  account  I  felt  that  the 
enemy's  center  was  broken,  and  now  I  had  little  else 
to  do,  save  gather  in  the  broken  fragments.  A 
notice  was  handed  me  and  I  read  a  call  for  an  im 
portant  meeting  of  the  church  on  Tuesday  of  that 
week.  I  went  home  with  a  song  in  my  heart  and 
often  unbidden  rising  to  my  lips. 

I  had  done  my  duty.  I  had  stood  up  for  Jesus 
and  his  poor ;  I  had  not  shunned  to  declare  the 
whole  counsel  of  God.  I  had  done  it  in  full  view 
of  probable  loss  of  reputation,  and  of  place 
and  salary,  too.  What  mattered  it,  so  long  as 
Christ  was  mine?  And  I  rejoiced  that  I  was 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  His  name.  I 
ate  a  hearty  supper,  sung  half  the  evening  and  lay 
down  to  a  night  of  peaceful  rest. 

The  next  day  and  the   following  I  packed  my 


FRANKLIN,   PORTAGE  COUNTY,   OHIO.          115 

trunk,  ready  to  depart  on  the  morrow.  Tuesday 
evening  Deacon  Burt  came  home  with  a  smile  on 
his  face  and  said, — "  The  church  has  resolved, 
unanimously,  save  Col.  Holden  and  family,  to  stand 
by  you.  So,  unpack  your  trunk  and  feel  that  you 
dwell  among  your  own  people." 

This  was  a  surprise  to  me ;  so  I  unpacked  my 
trunk  and  entered  with  fresh  vigor  upon  my  work. 
Quite  a  number  of  conversions  occurred  during  the 
winter  ;  the  church  was  edified  and  became  united 
and  harmonious.  When  the  spring  came,  I  was 
obliged  to  return  to  Oberlinand  resume  my  studies. 
But  though  the  ride  was  long,  over  forty  miles,  I 
went  down  often  during  the  summer  and  spent  a 
Sabbath  with  them.  It  was  understood  I  was  to 
be  their  minister  after  I  had  graduated  from  the 
Seminary.  Accordingly,  after  my  graduation  and 
marriage,  I  took  up  my  residence  with  them. 
With  much  warmth  of  affection  that  little  church 
gathered  around  me.  My  salary  was  small,  about 
$400,  I  think.  I  should,  properly,  have  received 
from  the  Home  Missionary  Society  $200  more, 
but  its  agents  were  afraid  of  Oberlin,  and  even  the 
Congregational  Association,  to  which  our  church 
belonged,  refused  to  accept  me  as  one  of  its  mem 
bers,  solely  because  I  came  from  Oberlin.  I  was 
understood  to  sympathize  with  its  doctrines. 
Well,  it  was  somewhat  hard  upon  me  and  a  hun 
dred  others  then,  but  God  enabled  us  to  wait  pa 
tiently  and  live  it  down,  and  to-day  it  is  no  re 
proach  to  a  man  in  all  those  regions,  that  he  is  a 


Il6  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

friend  of  Oberlin,  or  has  studied  in  its  halls.  De 
spite  my  small  salary,  I  began  early  to  lay  aside  a 
little  from  time  to  time,  especially  my  marriage 
fees,  and  many  a  discussion  my  wife  and  I  had  over 
a  five  dollar  bill,  whether  we  should  use  it  for 
some  present  comfort,  or  send  it  to  our  banker  to 
keep  for  some  rainy  day. 

THE  COW-HIDING  WHICH  DID  NOT  COME  OFF. 

Near  the  close  of  my  second  year  of  preaching 
in  Franklin,  a  serio-comic  affair  came  off  to  which 
I  am  loth  to  allude.  At  a  Sabbath  school  celebra 
tion,  a  lad  had  fallen  into  the  factory  pond  made 
by  a  dam  across  the  Cuyahoga  River,  and  before 
he  could  be  rescued,  was  drowned.  I  arrived  on 
the  scene  too  late  to  save  him,  but  the  efforts  I 
made  to  rescue  his  body,  led  his  grateful  parents, 
who  were  Episcopalians,  to  demand  of  the  rector 
that  I  should  preach  the  funeral  sermon.  As  i 
entered  the  vestibule,  I  met  a  number  of  the  prin 
cipal  men  of  the  town  and  shook  hands  with  them, 
but  one,  Dr.  Crittenden,  or  "  Dr.  Crit,"  as  he  was 
called,  drew  back  his  hand,  and  refused,  scornfully, 
to  recognize  me.  He  had  previously  been  excom 
municated  from  our  church  and  had  laid  it  up 
against  me.  I  was  not  specially  annoyed,  but 
smiled  and  passed  on  to  shake  hands  with  others, 
in  a  way  which  said,  "  It  is  of  no  consequence 
whatever;  there  are  enough  more  who  will  take 
this  hand." 

The  funeral  over,  it  occurred  to   me  to  call 


FRANKLIN,   PORTAGE  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

upon  the  doctor  and  explain  to  him  that  I  had 
nothing  against  him  personally.  That  in  the  mat 
ter  of  his  excommunication  I  had  only  done  as 
fidelity  to  our  common  oath  required,  etc.,  etc. 
So  I  called  and  found  the  doctor  in  council  with 
several  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  town  who  had 
witnessed  the  rude  treatment  of  me  in  the  church. 
As  nearly  as  I  could  afterward  learn,  he  had  called 
them  together  to  tell  them  his  grievances,  and 
fixed  purpose  to  flog  me  to  vindicate  his  insulted 
honor.  Just  at  this  point,  who  should  appear  upon 
the  scene  but  the  man  himself !  Now  the  redoubt 
able  doctor  was  short  of  stature,  but  made  up  for 
it  with  high-heeled  boots  and  a  tall  stove-pipe  hat. 
On  several  occasions  he  had  sought  to  supplement 
his  muscular  strength  by  flourishing  a  pistol.  Nor 
was  he  slow,  at  times,  to  hurl  at  his  foes  big  words 
portentous  and  terrible.  Not  a  few  people  were 
really  afraid  of  him.  Well !  I  knocked  just  at  the 
moment  when  his  wrath  had  reached  its  perihelion. 
As  he  opened  the  door  a  sensible  pallor  came  over 
his  face,  but  recovering  his  self-possession,  he 
haughtily  waved  me  in,  but  conducted  me  into  the 
opposite  parlor,  then  back  into  another  room  and 
finally  into  his  harness  and  saddle  room,  where 
hung  an  array  of  whips,  rawhide,  and  of  other 
material,  etc.,  etc.  What  all  this  meant  I  could 
not  divine  !  I  fancied  he  wished  to  get  me  out  of 
hearing  of  the  men  in  the  parlor  so  that  he  might 
not  be  overheard  as  he  apologized  for  his  conduct 
in  the  church.  Judge  of  my  surprise,  when  he 


Il8  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

took  down  a  rawhide,  stood  back  upon  his  heels 
and  stretching  himself  above  his  natural  height, 
said  in  gruff  tones:  "Mr.  Bristol,  I  have  resolved 
to  cowhide  you  !"  So  suddenly  this  came  upon 
me,  and  so  ludicrous  it  was,  that  I  burst  into  a  roar 
of  laughter  which  perfectly  disconcerted  him !  So 
loud  it  was  that  they  heard  it  in  the  other  room. 
Laying  my  right  hand  on  the  nape  of  his  neck,  I 
shook  all  the  strength  out  of  him  in  a  moment  and 
his  courage,  too !  He  did  not  even  attempt  to 
strike  me.  "Is  this,"  said  I,  "the  purpose  for  which 
you  have  led  me  back  here  ?"  You  cowhide  me ! 
Why  you  little  whiffet,  I  can  throw  you  out  of  that 
window,  and  I  will  do  it  if  you  attempt  to  strike 
me !  I  could  break  every  bone  in  your  little  body 
in  five  minutes  !"  Now  this  last,  though  I  said  it, 
was  only  part  true  ;  of  course  I  was  a  little  excited 
and  indulged  in  some  hyperbole.  Well,  the  poor 
fellow  was  scared  nearly  out  of  his  wits,  not  able 
even  to  speak,  so  I  left  him  standing  there  and 
went  back  laughing  at  the  unspeakable  ridiculous 
ness  of  the  situation  !  This  was  too  good  a  morsel 
for  village  gossip  and  sport  to  keep,  and  his  coun 
selors  scattered  in  every  direction  and  told  the 
story  of  the  doctor's  attempt  to  cowhide  the  min 
ister  !  Now  I  relate  this  not  at  all  to  defend  it  or 
commend  it,  but  to  relate  one  of  those  ludicrous 
experiences  which  sometimes  occur  in  even  min 
isters'  lives,  and  which  we  cannot  help  but  remem 
ber,  and  remembering,  narrate  and  laugh  over 
them.  A  good  hearty  laugh  hurts  no  man,  and  in 
order  to  laugh  there  must  be  a  cause. 


FRANKLIN,   PORTAGE   COUNTY,   OHIO.          119 

The  winter  following  was  one  of  revival  in  my 
field  and  I  followed  it  up  from  one  neighborhood 
to  another  till  I  brought  up  in  Hudson,  where 
"Western  Reserve  College"  was  situated.  Our 
meeting  was  held  in  the  Methodist  chapel  and  the 
Methodist  minister  and  I  alternated  in  preaching. 
A  large  number  were  hopefully  converted  and 
among  them  quite  a  number  of  students  who  came 
to  make  sport,  but  went  back  to  pray.  So  impor 
tant  did  this  field  at  Hudson  appear,  that  the  Con- 
gregationalists,  who  favored  the  Oberlin  view, 
began  to  build  a  church  edifice  and  extended  to 
me  an  invitation  to  become  their  pastor.  Much  as 
I  loved  the  people  and  church  in  Franklin,  I  was 
inclined  to  accept  the  call.  Before  the  change  was 
fully  consummated  I  received  another  important 
call. 


CHAPTER  X. 

AGENCY  FOR  OBERLIN  COLLEGE. 

The  trustees  and  faculty  of  Oberlin  College 
voted  me  a  call  to  a  soliciting  agency  for  the  col 
lege.  Its  finances  were  in  a  sad  condition.  For 
near  two  years  the  salaries  of  the  professors  had 
been  unpaid.  They  had  been  obliged  to  run  up 
heavy  bills  for  food  and  clothing  at  the  stores, 
hoping  that  money  would  come,  but  it  did  not. 
Nearly  all  its  old  stand-by  friends  in  the  East,  such 
as  Arthur  and  Lewis  Tappan,  Chapin  of  Providence 
and  Sears  of  Boston,  had  been  overthrown  or 
greatly  crippled  by  the  great  financial  cyclone 
which  had  swept  over  the  nation.  What  should 
they  do?  To  run  up  store  bills  on  trust  much 
longer,  was  neither  right  for  the  professors  or  safe 
for  the  merchants.  Yet  the  institution  was  crowded 
with  students  and  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was  work 
ing  wonders  there !  But  the  prospect  of  raising 
money  was  truly  dismal.  There  were  two  reasons 
for  this :  First,  the  financial  distress  and  almost 
general  bankruptcy  of  the  country.  Second,  the 
immense  prejudice  against  Oberlin.  To  go  out 
as  its  advocate  and  agent  asking  money,  had  just 
then  a  most  forbidding  aspect.  I  declined  the  call 
because  I  had  little  confidence  in  my  ability  to  per- 

(120) 


AGENCY  FOR  OBERLIN  COLLEGE.          .    121 

suade  men  to  give  money,  and  also  because  I  was 
enthusiastic  in  my  attachment  to  the  work  of  preach 
ing  the  Gospel.  Some  letters  passed  between  us, 
I  still  declining.  At  last  there  came  a  letter  signed 
by  President  Mahan,  Professor  Finney  and  all  the 
other  professors,  saying,  "If  you  still  refuse  to  act 
as  our  agent,  and  no  one  else  competent  undertakes 

it,  within days,  we  shall  each  and  all  resign  our 

places  and  give  up  the  enterprise  in  despair."  This 
was  too  much  for  me,  and  I  wrote  back  at  once : 
"Dear  Brethren  and  Fathers  !  stay  where  you  are 
and  abide  at  your  posts.  Help  will  come  I  know. 
I  will  go  and  do  what  I  can.  Oberlin  is  worth  a 
thousand  lives  like  mine."  So  I  left  the  dear  flocks 
of  my  love,  moved  my  family  to  Oberlin  and  went 
out  as  their  agent.  The  salary  I  was  to  receive 
was  $400  a  year  and  that  was  about  a  fair  spec 
imen  of  what  the  professors  were  getting  at  that 
time.  Working  my  way  East,  I  gathered  money 
slowly,  for  nearly  all  our  friends  were  poor.  By 
degrees  I  gathered  experience  and  facility  in  my 
work.  I  adopted  the  principle  of  never  urging  a 
man  to  give.  I  only  asked  the  privilege  of  laying 
before  him  the  story  of  Oberlin,  -what  it  is  doing, 
and  its  necessities.  This  done  I  simply  added, 
"If  you  belieye  the  Lord  would  have  you  give 
something  to  sustain  such  a  cause,  I  am  here  to 
receive  and  transmit  it."  I  never  tried  to  pry  into 
men's  business  or  judge  what  was  their  duty. 
This  put  me  on  pleasant  terms  with  people,  and  if 
they  did  not  give  they  thanked  me  for  my  call.  I 


122  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

was  careful  also  not  to  intrude  upon  hours  assigned 
to  business,  especially  in  the  case  of  men  of  large 
affairs.  Receiving  an  introduction  to  such,  I  usu 
ally  asked  if  he  could  afford  me  half  an  hour  within 
the  week  or  so,  in  which  I  could  lay  before  him 
an  important  matter.  The  time  designated,  I  took 
my  leave.  And  when  it  came  I  usually  had  his 
undivided  attention,  and  I  got  the  matter  fully 
before  him.  Usually  I  was  invited  to  take  tea  with 
the  party  after  business  hours  and  then  when  full 
and  in  pleasant  mood,  I  seldom  failed  to  get  a  liberal 
donation. 

MONEY  FROM  A  MISER. 

While  in  New  York,  some  of  my  friends  re 
solved  to  have  some  sport  at  my  expense.  So  one 
of  them,  H.  C.  Bowen,  him  of  the  Independent^ 
wrote  a  letter  introducing  me  to  a  rich  miser  who 
lived  in  South  Brooklyn.  Entirely  unsuspicious 
of  their  design  I  took  the  letter  of  introduction  to 
the  miser's  office.  He  received  me  coldly,  read 
the  letter,  asked  what  the  business  was.  Pleas 
antly  I  declined  telling  him,  and  only  asked  could 
he  designate  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  leisure  during 
the  week,  when  I  could  lay  it  before  him  ?  He 
handed  me  his  card  and  said,  "Take  tea  with  me  at 
my  villa,  such  an  evening,  in  South  Brooklyn." 
I  bowed  myself  out  of  his  office.  I  was  there 
promptly  at  the  appointed  time.  A  servant  took 
my  card,  and  I  was  invited  in.  I  found  him  walk 
ing  through  his  grounds  viewing  his  flowers  and 
shrubs.  I  praised  his  rare  taste  in  laying  off  his 


AGENCY   FOR   OBERLIN  COLLEGE.  123 

grounds,  admired  his  shrubs  and  flowers,  and  did 
not  allude  to  the  object  of  my  coming  till  we  were 
called  to  tea.  The  conversation  was  pleasant.  I 
spoke  of  a  namesake  of  his  in  Ohio  noted  for  his 
benevolence;  was  he  a  relative  of  his?  Tea  over 
he  took  his  cigar  and  began  to  smoke — offered  me 
one— " Excuse  me,  I  never  smoke."  Now  for  my 
errand.  In  about  twenty  minutes  I  told  the  story 
of  Oberlin,  its  500  students  going  out  every  winter 
to  teach  school,  etc.,  etc.,  the  immense  good  that 
school  was  doing,  the  small  salaries  of  the  profes 
sors,  etc.,  etc.  He  was  interested,  and  remarked 
when  I  closed,  "That  is  a  good  thing,  we  ought  to 
support  it."  Took  a  pen  and  gave  me  a  check  for 
$300!  Some  days  afterward  I  met  Mr.  Bowen 
on  Wall  street  and  he  asked,  "Did  you  call  on 

Mr.  in  South  Brooklyn?"     Yes!     He  smiled 

and  asked,  "Did  you  get  anything?'*  I  showed 
him  the  check.  He  took  it  and  calling  aloud  to 
one  broker  and  another  showed  it  and  they  laughed 
and  shouted  over  it,  for  they  said  they  never  heard 
of  his  giving  anything  before.  There  is  policy  in 
war  and  in  peace  too.  I  did  not  collect  a  great 
deal  of  money,  but  what  I  did  gather  was  promptly 
sent  right  where  it  was  needed.  The  institution 
still  held  on  its  way  and  after  two  years  I  resigned, 
and  other  agents  much  more  efficient,  I  think  than 
myself,  took  my  place,  and  I  returned  to  my  favor 
ite  pursuit. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE   FITCHBURG    PASTORATE. 

In  the  course  of  my  agency  I  had  become  ac 
quainted  with  the  Trinitarian  Congregational 
Church  at  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  and  when  my 
work  for  Oberlin  was  done,  I  accepted  a  call  fi  om 
it.  Here  I  labored  two  years.  The  church  was 
anti-slavery,  and  that  was  everywhere  spoken 
against.  Its  members  had  come  out  of  the  old 
church  on  account  of  its  subserviency  to  the  pro- 
slavery  sentiment  of  the  county.  Of  course  the 
new  church  was  unpopular.  So  too,  was  its  min 
ister,  for  th3  same  reason,  and  because  he  came 
from  Oberlin.  I  did  not  accomplish  much  while 
there  ;  it  was  a  time  of  trial  both  to  me  and  to  the 
church.  There  are  periods  when  the  tide  sets 
strongly  against  us,  and  we  can  do  but  little  save 
to  hold  our  own  and  keep  from  drifting  back,  and 
losing  ground.  Such  a  time  was  that  I  spent  at 
Fitchburg.  A  few  were  added  to  the  church,  but 
no  revival  movement  blessed  my  brief  pastorate 
of  two  years.  Before  I  had  left  Fitchburg,  I  had 
received  a  call  for  a  year's  service  in  the  Sullivan 
Street  church  in  New  York  City.  I  went  directly 
there  and  found  an  active  and  energetic  church 
with  which  I  worked  most  pleasantly  during  the 

(124) 


THE   FITCHBURG   PASTORATE.  12$ 

year.  We  enjoyed  during  that  year  a  constant 
revival,  more  or  less  persons  professing  conver 
sion  nearly  every  week,  and  some  uniting  with  us 
on  confession  of  faith  at  each  monthly  com 
munion. 

FORMATION   OF   THE  FREE  SOIL  PARTY. 

It  was  during  my  stay  in  New  York  that  there 
occurred  the  celebrated  "  Buffalo  Convention." 
This  was  a  gathering  of  diverse  elements,  consist 
ing  of  Whigs  and  Democrats  who  were  dissatis 
fied  with  the  subserviency  of  their  respective  par 
ties  to  pro-slavery  domination,  and  the  Liberty 
Party,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  James  G.  Bir- 
ney.  All  these  elements  gathered  in  one  great 
and  enthusiastic  convention  at  Buffalo,  and  there 
formed  the  Free  Soil  Party.  It  nominated  Martin 
Van  Buren  for  the  Presidency  and  Charles  Fran 
cis  Adams  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  I  was  a  del 
egate  from  New  York  City  to  that  convention. 
It  was  a  wonderful  meeting,  and  I  believe  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  there  inspiring  the  speakers, 
many  of  whom  were  old-line  wire-pulling  politi 
cians — Cretes  and  Arabians — we  heard  them  all 
speaking  the  Abolition  language  and  uttering  sen 
timents  of  liberty  which  astonished  us  all  and  none 
more  than  the  speakers  themselves.  Often,  after  a 
speech  fervent  in  its  advocacy  of  liberty  to  all, 
coming  red-hot  from  a  dyed-in-the-wool  Democrat, 
we  old  Abolitionists  cried  out,  amazed,  "  Is  Saul 
also  among  the  prophets  ?  " 


126  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

After  much  speaking  and  long  conference,  a 
platform  was  drawn  up,  acceptable  to  all  parties, 
Whigs,  Democrats  and  Liberty  Party  men,  and 
they  all  were  merged  into  one  party  whose  central 
principle  was,  liberty  to  all,  white  and  black,  and 
uncompromising  hostility  to  pro-slavery  propa- 
gandism  in  America.  The  name  given  by  one  of 
the  speakers,  and  accepted  by  the  convention,  was 
the  "  Free  Soil  Party"  the  meaning  of  which  was, 
that  the  soil  of  our  country,  not  yet  having  passed 
under  State  control,  should  be  sacred  to  freedom ; 
no  feet  of  slave  ever  to  be  suffered  to  tread  upon 
it.  When  the  organization  was  complete,  congrat 
ulatory  speeches  became  the  order  of  the  day. 
In  one  of  them,  a  Democratic  lawyer  by  the  name  of 
White,  used  this  language  in  regard  to  the  party. 
He  had  been  speaking  of  the  shameful  truck 
ling  to  slavery  by  both  the  old  parties,  Whig  and 
Democratic,  and  showing  where  the  Whig  party, 
under  pressure  from  the  South,  had  sacrificed  the 
great  doctrines  on  which  it  was  founded,  and  which 
alone  gave  it  a  right  to  live ;  and  also,  where  the 
Democrats  had  done  the  same,  and  even  worse, 
and  where  it  received  its  fatal  stabs,  and  thencefor 
ward  staggered,  moribund,  to  its  grave  ;  then  the 
orator,  turning  toward  the  seats  occupied  by  mem 
bers  of  the  "  Old  Liberty  Party,"  asked,  "  What 
shall  I  say  of  the  Liberty  Party,  the  party  of  Bir- 
ney  and  Tappan  and  Leavitt — a  party,  small  in 
numbers,  bitterly  persecuted,  misrepresented  and 
ostracised,  yet  ever  true  as  the  needle  to  the  pole, 


THE  FITCHBURG   PASTORATE.  I2/ 

to  the  great  principles  of  righteousness,  justice 
and  truth;  what  shall  I  say  of  it?  What  can  I 
say,  but  what  the  Great  Book  says  of  Enoch,  who 
lived  before  the  flood,  'Having  walked  with  God 
300  years,  was  not  suffered  to  see  death,  but  was 
translated  T '  As  he  said  this  the  vast  audience 
rose  to  their  feet  and  shouted  as  I  never  heard 
men  before. 

ISAIAH   RYNDERS. 

Returning  from  this  convention,  and  going 
down  the  Hudson  River  on  a  steamboat,  I  had  an 
encounter  with  that  prince  of  roughs  and  shoulder 
strikers  who  so  long  held  New  York  in  terror — 
Isaiah  Rynders.  Rynders  was  then  and  had  long 
been  in  the  employ  of  the  Tammany  Hall  Demo 
crats.  He  had  gathered  a  club  of  a  hundred  pugil 
ists  and  assassins  from  the  purlieus  of  the  great  city, 
and  these  he  had  trained  for  such  scenes  of  vio 
lence  as  from  time  to  time  should  further  the  dom 
ination  of  his  party  over  the  city.  Rynders  paid 
his  men  liberally  from  funds  received  from  the 
Tammany  officials,  who  in  turn  indemnified  them 
selves  by  the  stealings  for  which  that  party  became 
so  notorious  during  the  reign  of  Boss  Tweed,  his 
predecessors  and  successors,  for  many  years.  For 
a  long  time  prior  to  the  trip  I  am  speaking  of, 
"  Ike  "  had  held  a  rod  in  terrorem  over  the  heads 
of  New  York  Whigs,  and  indeed,  over  all  decent 
and  peace-loving  citizens. 

Especially  was  this  true  on  election  days,  and 


128  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

at  the  primaries  which  precede  them.  It  was  then 
that  this  Democratic  devil  was  as  busy  and  active 
as  a  weasel  in  a  brood  of  chickens,  darting  from 
precinct  to  precinct,  consulting  with  the  leaders, 
giving  peremptory  orders  to  his  lieutenants  and 
voters.  Short  and  sharp  were  his  orders,  and  woe 
to  the  Irishman  or  Dutchman  who  hesitated  about 
obeying  the  imperial  mandate.  He  knew  the  poli 
tics  of  every  ward  in  the  city,  and  how  many  Dem 
ocratic  votes  must  be  had  to  carry  it.  And  he 
knew  how  to  get  them,  too.  In  one,  terror  would 
keep  from  the  polls  a  sufficient  number  of  timid 
Whigs.  In  another,  stuffing  the  ballot-boxes  was 
feasible.  A  third  could  be  best  carried  by  prac 
ticing  the  rule  prescribed  by  one  of  their  author 
ities,  viz.,  "  Vote  early,  vote  late,  and  very  often!  " 
But  of  all  these  none  suited  the  genius  of  "  Ike  " 
so  well  as  the  reign  of  terror!  There  he  was  at 
home.  He  loved  to  see  men  tremble  when  he  and 
his  club  came  nigh.  I  will  give  a  sample  which  I 
once  heard  from  his  own  lips.  At  a  city  election 
a  great  crowd  of  near  a  thousand  men  were  wait 
ing  for  a  chance  to  vote.  It  was  in  a  Whig  ward. 
But  Isaiah  came  and  distributed  his  assassins 
among  them,  and  he  shall  tell  the  rest :  "  Mounting 
a  box,"  said  he,  "  which  overlooked  the  crowd,  I 
shouted,  '/  am  Isaiah  Rynders  !  My  club  is  here, 
scattered  among  you  !  We  know  you  !  Five  hun 
dred  of  you  are  from  Philadelphia — brought  here 
to  vote  the  Whig  ticket !  Damn  you !  if  you  don't 
leave  these  polls  in  five  minutes,  we  will  dirk  every 


THE  FITCHBURG  PASTORATE.  129 

mother  s  son  of  you!'  "  etc.,  etc.,  and  he  added,  with  a 
grin  of  pleasure,  "  In  five  minutes  five  hundred 
men  left  the  polls."  Of  course,  these  were  peace 
able  citizens,  and  went  home  without  voting,  for 
fear  of  assassination. 

About  a  year  prior  to  the  encounter  I  am  about 
to  relate,  an  anti-Slavery  convention  was  being  held 
in  the  Broadway  Tabernacle,  New  York.  Scarcely 
had  the  meeting  been  organized,  when  in  pushed 
this  rascal,  followed  by  his  henchmen.  He 
mounted  the  platform,  and  swore  no  white  man 
should  speak  in  that  meeting !  Garrison  attempted 
it,  but  was  summarily  put  down  and  silenced.  A 
New  York  City  minister  rose  to  speak,  but  Ryn- 
ders  marched  to  his  seat,  and  rubbing  his  fist  under 
his  nose,  said,  "  Not  one  word  from  you !  Sit 
down !  "  and  he  did  so.  A  negro  tried  to  speak, 
and  he  allowed  him,  saying  this  was  "a  nigger 
meeting !  "  No  one  else  was  tolerated.  The  po 
lice  were  either  in  league  with  him,  or  feared  to 
interfere.  The  Abolitionists  well  knew  it  was  in 
vain  to  appeal  to  them  for  help.  Complaints  had 
been  lodged  against  him  many  times  before,  but 
the  leading  Democrats  of  the  city  would  go  his 
bail,  and  the  courts  would  so  shuffle  his  case  that 
either  no  trial  would  come  off,  or  no  fine  be  in 
flicted,  or  other  punishment.  So  this  contemptible 
tyrant  was  allowed  to  break  up  an  anti-slavery  con 
vention  in  New  York,  and  scatter  its  members. 

The  writer  was  not  himself  present  at  that  Tab 
ernacle  Convention  ;  but  when  he  heard  of  it  there 


I3O  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

was  enkindled  within  a  curiosity  to  see  this  New 
York  autocrat,  and  perhaps  feel  of  his  muscles  and 
learn  "  what  meat  this  Csesar  lived  upon,  that  he 
had  grown  so  great !  "  The  opportunity  occurred 
on  this  trip  down  the  Hudson.  There  tvere  on 
board  the  steamer,  Mr.  Lewis  Tappan,  the  New 
York  merchant  and  anti-slavery  man,  and  also  a 
noted  New  York  jurist  and  politician,  Hon.  Joshua 
Spencer  of  Utica.  The  two  men  fell  into  a  dis 
cussion  on  the  slavery  question.  Mr.  Spencer  ad 
mitted  the  duty  of  Congress  to  abolish  the  slave 
trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Mr.  Tappan 
wrote  out  a  petition  to  Congress  to  do  this,  and 
asked  Mr.  Spencer  to  sign  it.  Before  he  had  time 
to  do  so,  Rynders  drew  up  his  Empire  Club,  and 
swore  he  would  throw  any  one  overboard  who 
should  sign  that  petition!  For  five  minutes  he 
swore  great  oaths  and  cursed  the  Abolitionists. 
Neither  the  captain  of  the  boat  or  the  passengers 
dared  to  question  his  right  to  rule  the  ship.  Mean 
time  I  was  measuring  him  with  my  eye  from  head 
to  foot,  and  my  conclusion  was  that  he  had  ruled 
the  country  about  long  enough — that  I  would  be 
willing  to  be  put  into  the  North  River,  provided  1 
could  take  him  along  with  me!  I  had  no  doubt  of 
my  ability,  once  in  the  water  with  him,  to  extricate 
myself  from  him  and  swim  to  either  shore.  So 
edging  my  way  up  to  the  table,  I  took  the  pen  and 
signed  my  name.  In  a  moment  the  Plug  Uglies 
were  upon  me.  Leaving  my  cloak  in  their  hands, 
I  sprang  like  a  cat  upon  their  leader,  exclaiming 


THE    NEW  YORK   PASTORATE.  131 

as  I  did  so,  "  I  have  got  you  now,  you  old  Jaco 
bin  ! "  Before  he  knew  it  he  was  stretched  out 
and  sprawling,  the  other  side  of  me  and  back  again, 
and  this  way  and  that,  he  was  thrown  about,  before 
his  company  could  help  him,  and  when  they  did, 
he  was  weak  as  a  rabbit,  and  scared  half  to  death  ! 
Meanwhile  he  was  trying  to  get  away  from  me, 
and  his  club  were  helping  him,  but  I  held  fast  to 
him,  and  when  they  pulled  him  they  dragged  me. 
They  rained  blows  upon  me,  perhaps  fifty  of  them, 
but  they  did  not  hurt  me  materially.  We  became 
so  crowded  together  that  neither  of  us  could  do 
anything,  and  I  began  to  call  out,  "Let  him  fight 
his  own  battles !"  "If  he  can't  handle  me  he  is  not 
fit  to  be  your  leader!"  "Does  it  take  a  hundred 
of  you  to  handle  one  man?"  "He  says  he  will 
throw  me  into  the  river,  let  him  try  it  if  he  dare !" 
etc.,  etc.  Others  too,  began  to  gather  courage 
and  cry  out,  "Fair  play  !"  "One  at  a  time  !"  etc.,  etc. 
As  the  club  held  back  a  little  I  started  with  him 
for  the  side  of  the  ship,  but  he  seized  a  post  we 
were  passing  with  both  hands,  and  I  could  not  pull 
him  away,  so  I  let  him  go  after  talking  rather 
plainly  to  him  and  his  gang.  I  found  this  man  of 
terror  weaker  than  common  men.  But  with  the 
frenzy  of  strength  and  energy  which  came  over 
me,  I  could  have  handled  with  ease  more  than  one 
at  a  time  like  him.  On  the  way  down  as  I  passed 
iiim  he  was  careful  to  keep  near  the  center  of  the 
boat.  If  any  one  should  ask  what  I  would  have 
done  with  him  could  I  have  got  him  to  the  side  of 


132  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

the  boat,  I  answer  I  should  assuredly  have  thrown 
him  over  the  rail,  and  have  gone  with  him ! 
Whether  I  should  have  helped  him,  as  Cassius  did 
Brutus,  to  reach  the  shore,  I  do  not  know,  but  I 
imagine  I  should  have  exacted  some  rather  humb 
ling  promises  first.  Should  any  one  say  this  was 
not  a  very  ministerial  performance,  this  rough 
grapple  with  such  a  brute,  well,  I  may  concede 
it.  But  may  it  not  have  been  manly  after  such 
provocation  to  stand  up  for  human  rights,  and  with 
might  and  main  to  shake  the  conceit  out  of  this 
Democratic  bulldozer  ?  There  are  diseases  no  mild 
medicine  will  cure.  Brute  force  for  brutes,  and 
"a  rod  for  a  fool's  back  /"  What  ultimate  effect  this 
had  on  Rynders  I  know  not.  But  I  never  heard 
of  his  heading  a  riot  afterward.  He  was  quietly 
retired  soon  after  to  a  place  in  the  custom  house  at 
a  small  salary,  and  has  long  since  passed  out  of 
mind.  I  may  add  here,  that  the  occasion  of  his 
being  on  the  boat,  he  and  his  club,  was  that  he  was 
returning  to  New  York  from  a  visit  to  the  Legis 
lature  then  in  session  at  Albany,  where  he  had  been 
sent  by  the  Tammany  authorities,  to  overawe  and 
control  the  vote  of  the  city  representatives  there  on 
certain  questions  before  the  Legislature.  After  I 
had  been  in  New  York  the  year  for  which  I  had 
been  hired,  the  former  pastor,  my  classmate,  Rev. 
S.  D.  Cochran,  revisited  the  city.  A  part  of  the 
church  wished  to  re-engage  him  as  pastor,  and  a 
part  desired  my  continuance  with  them.  To  avoid 
a  division  of  the  church,  I  refused  to  stay,  and  left. 


THE  FITCHBURG    PASTORATE.  133 

AGENCY  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  MISSIONARY 
ASSOCIATION. 

I  at  once  received  an  appointment  to  an  agency 
for  the  American  Missionary  Association.  The 
first  place  I  visited  to  present  the  cause  in  public 
addresses,  was  Meriden,  Conn.  My  first  address 
was  in  the  church  ministered  to  by  my  brother-in- 
law,  Rev.  A.  A.  Stevens.  Rev.  Mr.  Perkins,  the 
pastor  of  the  larger  church  down  near  the  railroad, 
would  only  give  me  the  evening  hour.  I  did  not 
like  this,  because  at  that  service  few  save  young 
people  attended,  and  this  was  not  the  class  from 
which  much  money  for  the  cause  was  to  be 
expected.  But  I  did  the  best  I  could.  Mr.  Per 
kins  treated  me  quite  coldly  and  after  the  service 
lectured  me  for  the  space  of  near  two  hours,  in  a 
manner  most  humiliating,  not  to  say  exasperating. 
No  mortal  man  ever  wounded  me  so  deeply  by  his 
criticisms  as  did  Mr.  Perkins  that  night.  I  was  tired 
out  and  made  no  reply.  I  felt  like  David  when  Shi- 
mei  threw  stones  and  cursed  him,  "Let  him  curse,  for 
the  Lord  hath  bidden  him."  About  eleven  o'clock  I 
left  the  lecture  room,  he  neither  asking  me  to  go 
home  with  him,  or  knowing  where  I  was  to  lay  my 
weary  head.  The  next  morning  I  wrote  to  the  New 
York  Committee  that  I  must  resign,  that  I  had  not 
the  nerve  to  endure  such  assaults  as  these.  Great 
was  the  indignation  of  Professor  Whipple  and  Mr. 
Tappan  at  Mr.  Perkins.  But  I  could  not  be  per 
suaded  to  act  further  as  their  agent.  Soon  after 
I  received  3,  call  from  the  Free  Church  of  Andover, 


134  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

Mass.,  and  accepted  it.  Singular  it  was  to  go 
back  to  the  place  from  which  I  had  been  expelled 
fourteen  years  before  on  account  of  anti-slavery, 
and  find  myself  pastor  of  a  large  anti-slavery  church 
and  in  fair  standing  with  the  other  ministers  of  the 
place.  More  singular  still  it  was  to  see  occasion 
ally  in  my  congregation,  Principal  Taylor,  "  Uncle 
Sam,"  who  was  one  who  voted  me  away,  now  cor 
dial  and  expressing  his  pleasure  to  meet  me  again 
and  hear  me  preach!  He  thought  "Mr.  Bristol 
had  changed  greatly  !"  Well,  I  hope  he  had.  But  I 
thought  "Uncle  Sam,"  as  the  boys  called  him,  was 
fairly  entitled  to  the  same  compliment. 

GETTING  EVEN  WITH  REV.   PERKINS. 

While  at  Andover  a  great  convention  of  New 
England  Abolitionists  was  called  in  the  Melodeon 
Hall  in  Boston.  I  was  a  delegate.  The  second  day 
of  the  convention  Mr.  Tappan  came  to  me  and 
said  :  "You  must  make'a  speech  this  afternoon."  I 
inquired  who  the  regular  speakers  were  to  be. 
Among  others  he  mentioned  Rev.  Mr.  Perkins 
of  Meriden.  "What  is  he  to  speak  upon?"  He 
replied,  "  'The  servitude  recognized  and  regulated 
by  Moses.'  By  the  way,"  said  he,  "that  is  the  very 
theme  for  you,  and  if  you  will  speak  upon  it  I  will 
call  upon  you  first."  There  was  a  twinkle  in  his 
eye  and  a  smile  on  his  cheek.  "All  right,"  said  I, 
"call  on  me."  A  vast  and  inspiring  audience  was 
assembled  and  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon  the 
president  called  out,  "Rev.  S.  Bristol  of  Andover 


THE  ANDOVER   PASTORATE.  135 

will  now  address  you."  I  took  the  platform  and 
announced  my  subject,  "The  Old  Testament  and 
human  rights."  I  have  seldom  been  more  happy 
in  a  public  address.  The  audience  was  with  me 
in  full  sympathy  from  first  to  last,  and  the  house 
shook  with  applause  when  I  left  the  stage!  "Mr. 
Perkins  of  Meriden,"  was  now  called  on  for  a 
speech.  Slowly  he  rose,  walked  up  the  aisle  in 
deep  meditation,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  floor! 
Slowly  he  mounted  the  rostrum,  paced  the  whole 
length  of  the  stage,  then  came  back,  and  looking 
up,  said :  "It  has  been  my  lot  often  to  address 
audiences  like  this,  and  sometimes  under  embarrass 
ment.  But  never  was  I  so  nonplussed  as  I  am 
to-day.  The  speaker  who  has  just  addressed  you 
so  ably  has  taken  my  speech  out  of  my  mouth  and 
carried  it  off  bodily  !  Not  only  has  he  taken  my 
subject,  but  has  brought  forth  every  principal 
argument  I  had  intended  to  use,  and  not  content 
with  that,  he  has  anticipated  me  in  my  illustrations 
also,  and  in  fact,  has  left  me  nothing  to  say  on  the 
subject !  I  feel  like  saying  there  is  nothing  more 
to  be  said  on  that  topic,  and  taking  my  seat !  But 
perhaps  I  can  say  something  on  the  subject  of 
West  India  Emancipation."  So  he  went  off  upon 
that,  but  he  made  no  headway.  The  audience  saw 
it  and  many  beginning  to  leave,  he  flatted  out  and 
sat  down.  Now  there  were  two  men  who  thor 
oughly  enjoyed  Mr.  Perkins'  humiliation.  One 
was  Mr.  Tappan  and  the  other  Professor  Whipple. 
After  the  adjournment  Mr.  Perkins  came  to  me 


136  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  congratulated  me  on  the  speech  I  had  made. 
I  shook  hands  with  him  and  bowed  myself  away, 
in  a  manner  which  seemed  to  say :  "Good-bye,  let 
the  past  be  forgotten  ;  we  are  even  now  /"  And  I 
have  never  had  one  hard  feeling  toward  him  since. 
What  is  it  the  old  proverb  says  about  "  Time  having 
its  revenges  ?" 

At  Andover  I  preached  only  a  little  over  a  year. 
I  did  not  accomplish  much.  The  church  held  its 
own  and  the  congregation  was  kept  together  for  a 
more  auspicious  day.  But  the  long  term  of  excite 
ment,  the  strain  of  mind  and  nerve  during  the  nine 
years  of  preparatory  studies,  followed  by  nearly 
as  many  more  fighting  the  battles  of  reform  and 
preaching  the  Gospel,  had  begun  to  tell  seriously 
on  a  constitution  naturally  vigorous  and  hardy 
beyond  the  common  lot.  I  had  become  excessively 
nervous.  Insomnia  had  become  chronic.  Deter 
mination  of  blood  to  the  brain  had  set  in,  and 
physicians  unanimously  advised  my  giving  up 
preaching  and  pastoral  work  for  some  years  at 
least.  I  would  have  gone  West,  taken  up  a  home 
stead  and  worked  upon  it,  but  I  had  not  means 
sufficient  for  that  and  support  a  family  consisting 
of  a  wife  and  three  children. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA. 

After  much  reflection  and  prayer  over  the 
matter  I  decided  to  go  to  California.  So  I  sent 
to  my  friend  Mr.  Pelton  of  Ohio,  for  the  money  I 
had  deposited  with  him  from  time  to  time,  and  he 
sent  me  some  over  six  hundred  dollars.  Dividing 
this  with  my  wife,  I  took  passage  on  the  steamship 
Empire  City,  and  sailed  from  New  York  for 
Chagres,  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  I  was  very 
sick  on  my  passage,  but  recovered  soon  after  reach 
ing  land.  We  were  poled  up  the  Chagres  River 
in  dug-outs  by  natives,  and  the  rest  of  the  way  to 
the  Pacific  we  walked  and  had  our  baggage  packed 
on  mules.  Wonderful  was  this  land  of  perpetual 
summer  to  me!  There  was  not  one  tree  or  shrub 
or  species  of  grass  I  had  ever  seen  before!  Yet  I 
was  surprised  at  the  poverty  which  in  many 
respects  prevailed.  The  people  were  poor,  very 
poor,  and  looked  upon  us  "Americanos'5  they  called 
us,  as  all  of  us  rich!  In  general  their  crops  were 
poor,  cane  excepted.  The  pastures  were  very 
poor  and  our  Northern  hay  brought  fabulous  prices. 
The  vast  tangled  forests  were  utterly  destitute  of 
such  berries  as  raspberries,  blackberries,  strawber 
ries,  and  even  such  a  thing  as  our  wild  plum  was 

(137) 


138  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

nowhere  found  in  a  state  of  nature.  No  such 
building  timber  as  ours  in  the  temperate  climes 
was  found  in  all  their  wood-covered  country.  On 
the  Isthmus  we  were  obliged  to  wait  sixty  days 
for  the  "Sarah  Sands"  which  was  to  take  us  to  San 
Francisco.  These  sixty  days  1  improved  in  ac 
quainting  myself  as  thoroughly  as  possible  with 
the  country,  its  people,  its  animals,  its  birds,  its 
reptiles,  its  plants,  and  its  prospects.  To  this  end 
1  made  journeys  in  different  directions  from  Pan 
ama  and  carried  a  gun,  for  the  double  purpose  of 
self-defence  and  of  capturing  game  for  the  market. 
In  this  latter  object  I  was  so  successful  that  I  was 
able  to  hire  a  man  to  accompany  me  and  carry  my 
game  and  market  it.  I  was  able  to  pay  him  three 
dollars  a  day  and  have  as  much  left  for  myself. 
In  these  excursions  some  rather  thrilling  incidents 
occurred,  two  or  three  of  which  may  be  worth 
relating. 

STEPPING  ON  AN  ALLIGATOR. 

On  a  visit  to  the  site  of  old  Panama,  a  ruin  now 
overgrown  with  cactus  and  large  trees,  I  under 
took  to  cross  the  narrow  entrance  where  the  sea 
rushed  in  at  full  tide  and  filled  an  inland  bay  per 
haps  a  mile  in  diameter.  My  game  carrier  chose 
to  go  around,  while  I  undertook  to  wade  across. 
The  tide  was  out  and  the  mud  soft  and  deep. 
When  about  half  way  across,  I  came  to  a  small 
pond  surrounding  a  rock.  The  water  was  very 
much  riled,  I  judged  by  fish.  Near  the  rock  the 
water  was  nearly  waist  deep.  I  got  upon  the  rock 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA.  139 

and  rested  awhile.  As  I  let  myself  down  on  the 
opposite  side,  a  foot  or  so  beneath  the  surface,  I 
stepped  upon  what  seemed  a  slab,  or  a  water- 
soaked  log*.  It  gave  way  gradually  as  I  bore  my 
weight  upon  it.  Instantly  I  was  hoisted  some  ten 
or  twelve  feet  and  thrown  upon  the  top  of  the  rock! 
The  water  was  dashed  all  over  the  rock,  and  out 
of  the  pond  rushed  an  alligator  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  feet  long,  and  the  time  he  made  through  the 
mud-flat  to  the  sea  was  surprising!  My  companion 
who  was  near  by  on  the  farther  side  and  saw  the 
whole,  remarked  that  he  had  seen  pictures  of  men 
riding  on  the  backs  of  crocodiles  across  the  Nile. 
He  had  hitherto  regarded  them  as  fiction.  Now 
he  believed  it  a  reality.  Had  he  not  seen  it  with 
his  own  eyes?  But  was  it  not  enough  to  make 
one's  hair  stand  on  end  after  that  to  be  obliged  to 
let  myself  again  down  into  that  murky  water  and 
wade  to  the  other  shore?  But  I  had  to  do  it,  for 
the  tide  was  coming  in  and  would  bring  around 
that  rock  hundreds  of  hungry  alligators  and  sharks, 
and  perhaps  a  crocodile  too ! 

ANOTHER  ENCOUNTER. 

At  another  time  as  I  was  following  down  the 
course  of  a  partially  dried  up  rivulet,  shooting 
game  which  visited  its  occasional  pools,  I  suddenly 
found  myself  within  five  feet  of  a  large  alligator. 
His  jaws  were  partially  open,  revealing  his  great 
ugly  teeth,  his  eye  was  fixed  upon  me,  his  neck 
partially  bent  as  if  in  the  act  of  springing  upon  me, 


140  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  his  feet  spread  out  and  ready  for  a  leap!  I 
had  mistaken  him  for  a  log  till  now  I  was  upon 
him.  I  stopped  short  and  taking  an  ounce  ball 
from  my  pocket,  dropped  it  into  one  of  the  barrels 
and  as  it  rolled  down  I  quickly  turned  the  muzzle 
down  and  fired.  I  think  the  discharge  was  simul 
taneous  with  the  contact  of  the  ball  with  the  load. 
The  ball  struck  an  indentation  back  of  the  eye  and 
penetrated  the  brain.  His  head  dropped  and  I 
sprang  back  and  none  too  quickly,  for  almost 
instantly  he  struck  with  his  tail  the  ground  where 
I  stood,  breaking  into  oven-wood  the  drift  limbs 
scattered  over  the  ground.  I  believe  one  of  those 
blows  would  have  broken  in  pieces  a  good  strong 
cart-wheel.  The  alligator,  like  all  amphibious 
animals,  dies  slowly.  For  an  hour  I  stood  by  this 
dying  creature  studying  his  anatomy,  examining 
his  feet,  teeth,  hide,  etc.,  etc.  Following  down 
the  stream  I  came  to  a  number  of  Spanish  women 
washing  clothes.  I  asked  for  a  drink  of  water  and 
told  them  how  I  had  just  killed  an  alligator.  They 
at  first  shook  their  heads  incredulously.  But  as  I 
described  the  paroxysms  of  the  dying  animal,  they 
began  to  believe,  and  delegated  two  of  their  num 
ber  to  go  and  see  if  it  was  so.  With  difficulty  I 
allured  them  along  from  one  point  to  another, 
going  before  them,  till  at  last  they  saw  it  raising  a 
dust  and  beating  the  ground,  and  then  they  ran 
back,  crying,  "Aligate!  Aligate!"  and  soon  the 
whole  company  was  there  singing  and  shouting! 
And  they  blessed  the  "Americano,"  patting  him 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA. 

on  the  shoulder,  and  even  kissing  his  gun.  And 
they  caught  up  their  babes  and  pressed  them  to 
their  bosoms  and  said  of  the  dying  reptile,  "He 
will  no  more  eat  the  pickaninny."  From  that  time 
onward  "the  Americano"  was  in  high  esteem  when 
he  came  through  their  settlement,  and  their  cabin 
doors  flew  open  wide  as  he  passed  by,  and  every 
favor  was  shown  him  he  could  reasonably  ask. 

A  CROCODILE. 

While  on  the  Isthmus,  I  heard  several  times  of 
a  huge  alligator,  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet 
long,  which  had  been  seen  some  dozen  miles  up  the 
Rio  Grande  River.  At  first  I  was  incredulous, 
but  by  and  by  it  became  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  men  whose  candor  I  could  not  question,  and  I 
determined  to  go  and  see  for  myself.  Two  trips 
1  made,  but  could  not  find  him.  Returning  from  a 
third  trip  in  a  large  dug-out,  I  saw  ahead  what 
seemed  a  large  log  floating  in  the  river.  Fearing 
we  should  run  afoul  of  it,  I  said  to  the  steersman, 
"Look  out  for  that  log!"  "I  see  it,"  he  said.  Look 
ing  again  a  moment  after,  I  cried  out,  "Take  care, 
you  will  upset  us!"  "I  am  trying  to  keep  clear  of 
it,  but  it  will  keep  before  us!"  he  replied.  Just 
then  I  saw  it  was  no  log,  but  a  crocodile  which 
was  making  for  us.  I  brought  my  gun  down  but 
he  dashed  under  the  boat  and  struck  it  a  blow  so 
violent  that  it  threw  me  into  the  bottom  of  the 
boat.  Had  our  boat  been  made  of  boards  like  a 
whale  boat,  I  believe  he  would  have  stove  in  her 


142  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

bottom.  After  flourishing  around  us  a  few 
moments  and  making  the  water  boil  like  a  pot,  he 
disappeared,  and  we  saw  him  no  more.  "Unum 
sufficit"  I  did  not  get  a  fair  view  of  this  crocodile, 
but  I  believe  he  was  twenty-five  feet  long. 

FOLLOWED    UP   BY  A   PUMA. 

But  another  and  more  serious  encounter  while 
on  the  Isthmus,  was  with  a  land  animal,  the  puma, 
or  South  American  lion,  as  he  is  called.  This  animal 
is  very  common  on  the  Isthmus,  and  is  by  far  the 
most  powerful  of  all  their  beasts  of  prey.  It  is 
very  bold,  having  next  to  no  fear  of  man.  In  the 
early  days  of  emigration  to  California  it  often  delib 
erately  trotted  through  some  of  the  outside  streets 
of  Panama,  regardless  of  dogs  and  men.  It  is  not 
much  of  a  lion  in  appearance.  It  has  many  more 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  tiger,  but  is  much  less 
fierce  than  that  animal.  I  encountered  several  of 
them  in  my  excursions,  but  as  I  usually  had  a  shot 
gun  only  and  revolver,  I  neither  ran  from  them  or 
gave  them  chase.  Like  the  Priest  and  Levite,  I 
"  passed  by  on  the  other  side."  Had  they  shown  a 
decided  disposition  to  try  titles,  I  should  have 
done  the  best  I  could  with  the  weapons  I  had.  My 
plan  was  to  reserve  fire  till  in  close  quarters,  and 
then  aim  at  an  eye.  For  I  found  that  nothing  so 
completely  confuses  and  demoralizes  man  or  beast 
as  to  put  out  or  wound  an  eye.  There  was  one 
occasion,  however,  when  I  was  so  persistently  fol 
lowed  up  by  one  of  these  animals,  with  such  ob- 


A   TRIP   TO   CALIFORNIA.  143 

vious  advantage  on  his  side,  that  I  did  my  best  to 
get  away  from  him.  I  was  returning  from  a  hunk 
ing  trip  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  when  I 
saw  a  fox-squirrel  crossing  the  trail.  I  followed 
him  quite  a  distance,  as  he  sprang  from  limb  to 
limb,  clambering  over  the  trees.  He  led  me  off  into 
a  large  flock  of  Isthmus  grouse.  They  flew  up  all 
around  me,  and  I  shot  them  on  the  wing.  It  was 
impossible  to  see  them  on  the  ground,  for  the 
whole  forest  was  overgrown  by  a  giant  species  of 
fern  as  high  as  one's  shoulders,  and  completely 
shading  the  ground.  When  I  had  killed  half  a 
dozen  or  so  of  these  grouse  I  called  aloud  to  my 
game-carrier  to  come  and  take  the  game.  I  sup 
posed  him  near;  I  had  heard  his  footsteps  some  ten 
or  twelve  rods  off,  following  me  about.  Receiving 
no  reply,  I  continued  to  shoot  till  overloaded  with 
game.  I  called  again  and  again.  While  loading 
both  the  barrels  of  my  gun  I  heard  what  I  took  to 
be  his  footsteps,  slowly  approaching  in  the  leaves. 
I  urged  him  to  come  faster,  and  then  he  stopped 
short !  Again  I  called,  and  wondered  he  did  not 
answer  nor  come !  It  was  not  like  him — what 
could  it  mean?  While  I  was  thinking  of  the  mat 
ter  I  heard  another  step  in  the  dry  leaves !  then 
another,  then  another  —  each  of  them  slow,  long, 
cautious  and  measured  cat-like  steps,  such  as  that 
animal  makes  in  stealing  upon  game !  It  was  a 
puma!  It  must  be  a  large  one,  and  a  bold  one,  too ! 
For  he  had  heard  the  report  of  my  gun  ten  or  fif 
teen  times,  not  a  dozen  rods  distant !  Perhaps  he 


144  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

had  drunk  human  blood  and  eaten  the  flesh  of  man, 
and  was  now  hankering  for  mine !  Could  I  have 
had  open  ground,  where  I  could  see  him,  I  should 
have  known  better  what  to  do.  Alas !  the  all  over 
shadowing  fern  tops  completely  hid  him  from  my 
view,  and  it  would  do  so  if  not  one  rod  distant ! 
I  now  called  louder  than  ever  to  my  game  carrier, 
and  again  and  again,  but  no  response  came  back. 
He  had  not  followed  me  at  all,  but  had  lain  down 
beside  the  trail  and  gone  to  sleep,  and  not  finding 
me  when  he  awoke,  proceeded  on  to  Panama.  I  felt 
in  my  pocket  for  my  hunting  knife.  Alas !  it  was 
not  there — I  had  lost  it !  I  searched  for  balls,  but 
my  game  carrier  had  them,  with  some  extra  am 
munition  ! 

Which  way  was  the  trail  ?  I  had  turned  round 
and  round  so  many  times,  I  was  quite  at  a  loss  to 
know  which  way  to  get  out  of  the  dark  forest. 
Looking  northward,  it  seemed  lighter  than  in  any 
other  direction.  Perhaps  there  was  a  clearing 
there  !  I  would  make  for  it.  So,  with  a  yell  of 
defiance  at  my  slowly  approaching  foe,  I  started 
off  at  a  rapid  pace.  A  half-mile  or  so,  I  came  to 
a  lower  level  of  land  —  a  tropical  swamp,  over 
grown  with  low  bushes,  some  five  to  fifteen  feet 
high,  and  all  overgrown  and  laden  down  with  vines 
and  creeping  shrubs,  which  formed  windrows 
which  succeeded  each  other  like  the  waves  of  the 
sea.  Meanwhile,  the  puma,  too,  had  quickened  his 
pace,  and  trotting  after  me  had  kept  his  distance, 
but  stopped  again  when  I  stopped.  Looking  over 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA.  145 

the  swamp,  I  fancied  there  was  a  clear  spot  in  the 
center,  and  I  determined  to  reach  it  if  possible.  I 
crowded  through  the  brush  and  clambered  over 
the  windrows.  At  each  difficult  one  I  turned  and 
yelled  defiance  at  the  puma,  and  then  vigorously 
clambered  over,  often  becoming  so  entangled  in 
the  network  that,  had  the  puma  attacked  me  there, 
he  would  have  had  an  easy  time  of  it.  Alas!  the 
farther  I  proceeded,  the  higher  rose  these  wind 
rows  !  Seeing  a  tree  some  thirty  feet  high  on  my 
right,  I  sought  to  reach  it.  Could  I  do  so,  I  would 
climb  into  its  branches,  then  let  the  beast  come — I 
would  blow  out  his  eyes,  and  then  kill  him  at  my 
leisure.  Reaching  the  tree  after  a  great  struggle, 
to  my  dismay,  I  found  it  a  tropical  thorn  tree  ! —  a 
species  of  black  or  red  locust.  The  thorns  were 
from  six  to  twelve  inches  long,  and  as  sharp  as  a  nee 
dle!  They  were  as  large  around  at  the  butt  as 
one's  little  finger.  And  they  guarded  every  part 
of  the  tree — the  trunk  and  all  the  branches,  and  they 
pointed  backward  and  downward,  so  that  to  climb 
the  tree  was  an  utter  impossibility  !  And  now  it 
seemed  to  me  my  time  had  come  !  How  many 
things  had  combined  against  me  !  Well !  I  must 
die  some  time ;  might  not  this  be  as  good  a  time 
as  any — might  it  not  even  be  the  best?  Why 
should  I  fear  death  in  any  form  ?  I  knew  that  my 
Redeemer  lived.  Still,  I  did  not  relish  death  at 
the  hand,  or,  rather,  the  paw,  of  a  beast.  Had 
not  God,  away  back  in  the  days  of  Noah,  given  us 
a  command  to  kill  the  beast  which  takes  the  life  of 

10 


146  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

man  ?  "At  the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require 
the  blood  of  man."  Did  not  Paul  speak  of  fighting 
with  beasts  at  Ephesus?  And  if  this  was  literal 
truth,  he  doubtless  did  it  with  a  will,  and  effectu 
ally.  Well,  I  too  will  fight  this  beast  as  a  religious 
duty,  and  with  faith  in  Divine  help,  too ! 

I  was  beside  a  windrow  some  twelve  feet  high. 
It  was  fifteen  feet  through  it,  and  the  puma  was 
now  on  the  other  side — he  was  within  leaping  dis 
tance.  Would  he  crawl  through,  or  with  a  strong 
bound  come  leaping  over?  Withjingers  on  the 
trigger  of  my  gun,  I  stood  there  a  long  time,  occa 
sionally  kicking  against  the  bush,  and  yelling  defi 
ance  !  But  he  was  very  cool — he  was  in  no  hurry ! 
I  could  hear  his  step,  and  even  the  wagging  of  his 
tail  against  the  leaves !  Suddenly  a  shadow  came 
over  my  face,  which  startled  me  !  It  was  made  by 
a  distant  mountain  behind  which  the  sun  was  just 
then  sinking!  The  tropical  twilight  is  very  short, 
and  well  I  knew  that  in  twenty-five  minutes  dark 
ness  would  set  in,  and  the  puma  would  have  his 
own  way,  for  what  could  I  do  in  the  darkness? 
What  I  did  must  be  done  quickly.  I  resolved  to 
settle  the  matter  at  once.  I  would  crawl  through 
the  windrow  to  where  the  animal  was,  and  blow 
his  brains  out,  or  die  like  a  man !  So,  tearing  aside 
some  vines  and  pushing  my  gun  forward  of  me,  and 
lying  on  the  ground,  I  wormed  my  way  among  the 
vines,  perhaps  half-way  through.  My  attention 
was  arrested  by  a  vine  hanging  before  me,  which, 
evidently,  had  been  cut  off  by  a  knife  !  Some  one 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA.  147 

had  been  here  before,  and  cut  that  vine — probably 
a  Mexican,  with  his  broad  blade,  or  machete.  Then 
I  saw  another,  and  another,  and  soon  I  got  the  di 
rection  in  which  some  Mexican,  a  year  before,  had 
cut  a  path,  through  which  he  could  crawl  through 
this  jungle.  I  followed  up  the  lead,  occasionally 
kicking  the  brush  behind,  and  sending  back  a  yell 
of  defiance.  So  I  scrambled  on,  perhaps  fifteen 
rods,  when  I  came  into  a  wider  trail,  where  I  could 
stand  up  and  run.  By  and  by  I  came  into  a  cat 
tle  path.  It  was  growing  dark,  but  I  ran  with  a 
lightness  of  foot  which  surprised  me ;  I  seemed 
scarcely  to  touch  the  ground.  The  owls  flew  from 
the  bushes  as  I  passed  them,  and  I  imagined  I 
could  hear  the  puma  bounding  along  but  a  few  rods 
behind!  Then  I  saw  lights  ahead,  and  more  and 
more,  and  before  nine  o'clock  I  had  reached  the 
suburbs  of  Panama,  and  had  found  my  tent  and 
deserting  game  carrier,  too  ! 

While  on  the  Isthmus  I  tried  much  to  find  an 
anaconda,  but  though  I  often  heard  of  their  being 
seen  by  others,  I  was  never  able  to  find  one,  nor 
any  other  snake  of  much  size  in  all  my  journey  ings. 
We  staid  at  Panama  some  sixty  days,  waiting  for 
the  "Sarah  Sands"  to  come  around  the  Horn  and 
take  us  to  San  Francisco.  Well,  she  came  at 
length,  but  proved  a  very  poor  sailor.  Her  bottom 
was  covered  with  barnacles,  and  she  had  1,200  pas 
sengers  and  was  *  so  top-heavy  that  she  rocked 
fearfully,  even  in  calm  weather.  For  nearly  two 
months  we  plodded  our  weary  way  up  the  coast, 


148  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

all  the  while  living  on  salted  beef  and  hard  tack. 
Scurvy  began  to  appear,  and  other  forms  of  sick 
ness,  and,  added  to  all,  our  coal  gave  out  when  500 
miles  from  San  Francisco!  We  put  in  near  shore 
and  anchored.  We  tore  up  a  great  cattle  corral 
and  rafted  the  timber  to  the  ship  ;  got  well  out  to 
sea,  but  had  to  put  back  and  anchor  again,  and  the 
captain  determined  to  send  a  messenger  up  by 
land  to  Monterey,  the  then  coaling  station  of  Cali 
fornia,  for  a  lighter  to  come  down  with  coal. 

NARROW  ESCAPE  FROM  A  WRECK. 

Coming  in  toward  shore  in  the  dense  fog  of 
early  morning,  the  ship  came  near  being  wrecked 
on  a  reef  of  rock,  a  mile  or  so  off  the  shore  of  San 
Simeon.  It  was  singularly  averted.  I  was  at 
the  time  afflicted  with  three  large  boils,  one  on  my 
hip,  another  on  my  back,  and  the  third  on  the  top 
of  my  head.  And  because  of  the  great  crowd 
which  thronged  the  deck  by  day  and  by  night,  I 
obtained  permission  to  sling  up  a  hammock  just 
under  the  awning  which  covered  the  deck,  and 
over  the  heads  of  those  on  deck,  who  often  surged 
against  my  boils  and  hurt  me  terribly.  It  was 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  we  were 
under  full  head-way,  when  I  was  startled  by  what 
seemed  to  me  the  barking  of  a  pack  of  bull  dogs 
close  at  hand.  The  murmur  and  bustle  on  deck 
prevented  those  below  from  hearing  it.  Looking 
over  the  side  of  my  hammock,  I  saw  the  mate 
passing  below  and  cried  out,  "Captain  Thatcher, 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA.  149 

we  are  close  in  ashore,  I  hear  the  dogs  bark!" 
Glancing  up  he  answered  roughly,  "The  devil  you 
do!"  But  I  called  out  the  more  energetically,  "I 
tell  you  captain,  we  are  close  in  shore,  I  know  it." 
Seeing  now  who  it  was,  he  cried  out  to  the  man 
at  the  wheel  to  "about  ship."  He  did  so,  and  as 
the  great  ship  swung  around  she  almost  brushed 
against  a  long  reef  of  jagged  rocks,  covered  with 
seals  and  sea  lions,  whose  barking  at  our  near 
approach  I  mistook  for  bull  dogs.  Had  we  pro 
ceeded  three  minutes  longer  as  we  were  going, 
our  ship  and  her  1,200  passengers  would  have  been 
dashed  in  pieces  on  that  reef!  Few  if  any  would 
have  been  saved,  for  it  was  near  a  mile  from  shore 
and  all  the  way  the  water  was  white  with  foam, 
surging  and  dashing  against  innumerable  rocks! 
For  once  I  was  profoundly  grateful  for  an  affliction 
of  boils!  But  did  Captain  Thatcher  ever  thank  the 
writer  for  his  timely  and  energetic  warning?  Not 
he!  It  would  have  compromised  his  dignity!  It 
would  have  been  an  admission  of  the  possible  falli 
bility  of  the  pope  of  the  sea.  Few  of  our  passengers 
ever  knew  how  near  that  night  we  approached  the 
eternal  shore.  Dropping  down  the  coast  a  short 
distance  we  came  to  anchor  in  what  is  now  the 
roadstead  of  "San  Simeon,"  some  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  up  the  coast  above  San  Luis  Obispo. 

UP  THE  COAST  OF  CALIFORNIA  BY  LAND. 

Not  willing  to  stay  by  the  ship  till  a  messenger 
could  be  sent  to  Monterey  for  coal,  and  a  lighter 


1 50  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

come  down,  to  our  aid,  I  formed  a  company  of  eight 
to  leave  the  ship  there  and  make  the  land  trip  to  the 
mines.  The  Captain  gave  us  twenty  dollars  in 
money,  each,  and  what  provisions  we  could  carry. 
The  first  night  we  were  out  came  near  being  one 
of  sad  catastrophe.  We  camped  on  a  hillside  cov 
ered  with  wild  oats,  beside  a  spring.  I  had  killed 
some  game  on  our  way  and  the  savory  smell  of  the 
roast  had  spread  far  and  wide  on  the  evening  air, 
and  I  remarked  to  my  messmates,  that  we  would 
have  a  visit  Irom  a  bear  before  morning.  It  was 
arranged  that  I  should  sleep  in  the  door  or  front 
of  the  tent,  my  gun  within  reach,  to  be  ready  for 
any  emergency.  Being  chosen  captain,  a  sense  of 
responsibility  in  leading  a  company  through  an 
unknown  country,  kept  me  largely  from  sleep  that 
night.  I  had  been  awake  as  I  thought,  a  couple  of 
hours,  when  I  heard  a  rustle  in  the  wild  oats  near 
the  spring,  some  three  rods  distant.  I  quietly  rose 
up  and  cocked  my  gun.  But  first  I  would  count 
the  occupants  of  our  tent  and  be  sure  that  all  our 
men  were  there.  I  counted  in  the  moonlight  seven 
beside  myself.  Crawling  out  I  discovered  what 
seemed  a  bear  sitting  on  his  haunches  by  the  spring! 
Taking  deliberate  aim  at  what  seemed  his  head,  I 
drew  upon  the  trigger,  but  as  I  did  so,  the  thought 
flashed  over  my  mind,  "What  you  are  aiming  at 
may  not  be  the  animals  head!  Should  it  be  some 
other  part,  and  you  only  wound  him,  you  will  have 
a  lively  time  here!"  So  I  let  off  my  finger,  and 
was  astonished  that  the  gun  did  not  go  off,  for  I 


A   TRIP   TO   CALIFORNIA.  15 1 

had  distinctly  felt  the  give  of  the  spring!  I  waited 
a  moment  for  some  movement  which  should  reveal 
which  was  head  and  which  not.  A  well  recognized 
"ahem!"  froze  my  heart  with  horror!  It  was  my 
friend  Elliott,  who  had  risen  unknown  to  me,  lifted 
the  tent  cloth  and  passed  out  to  the  spring.  I  must 
have  fallen  into  a  momentary  sleep,  and  awoke 
without  being  aware  of  it.  And  the  way  I  was 
misled  in  counting  was  this,  an  additional  man  had 
left  the  ship  and  overtaken  us  and  turned  in  with 
us  that  night,  and  I  had  forgotten  it.  Several  months 
after  I  told  Elliott  of  this  and  he  turned  pale  and 
said,  "Had  you  pulled  an  ounce  harder  on  that  trig 
ger,  that  would  have  been  the  end  of  me." 

A  PARADISE  OF  WILD  ANIMALS. 

This  was  a  very  paradise  for  wild  game,  and  the 
next  morning,  with  its  first  opening  light,  I  sallied 
forth  in  quest  of  something  savory  for  our  break 
fast.  I  had  not  gone  half  a  mile,  wading  through 
the  rank  wild  oats,  before  I  started  up  a  huge  elk. 
A  few  rods  he  bounded,  and  then  turned  and  stared 
wildly  at  me !  How  grand  he  looked  in  the  morn 
ing  fog — his  horns  branching  abroad  at  least  ten  feet 
high,  and  half  as  wide!  He  was  quite  within  shoot 
ing  distance,  but  I  hesitated  to  fire  upon  so  mag 
nificent  a  beast.  But,  as  he  turned  to  run,  I  let  fly 
a  charge  of  some  twenty  revolver  balls  into  his 
shoulder.  He  was  doubtless  badly  wounded,  but 
was  able  to  run  a  short  distance.  The  dense  fog 
prevented  my  seeing  which  way  he  went.  Follow- 


I$2  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

ing  carefully  his  trail  some  twenty  rods,  I  came 
upon  the  great,  broad,  slouchy  tracks  of  an  old 
grizzly  bear!  He  had  passed  only  a  few  moments 
before,  for  the  stones  he  trod  upon  bore  the  wet 
imprints  of  his  toes  and  claws.  I  had  never  seen  a 
grizzly,  and  I  left  the  trail  of  my  wounded  elk  and 
followed  the  bear.  That  this  was  foolhardy  in  the 
extreme  I  now  freely  admit.  Subsequent  acquaint 
ance  with  that  animal  has  forced  upon  me  the  con 
clusion  that  no  man  has  any  business  with  a  grizzly 
unless  well  armed  with  a  Spencer  rifle,  nor  even 
then,  unless  he  has  several  well-trained  dogs  to 
hold  the  bear  at  bay  or  distract  his  attention  while 
the  hunter  pours  into  his  tough  carcass  half  a  dozen 
or  more  ounce  balls.  And  even  then  it  is  not  a  bad 
precaution  to  have  in  view  a  tree  to  whose  friendly 
arms  he  can  flee,  if  worse  comes  to  worst.  Well, 
recklessly  I  pursued  the  bear.  Soon  his  steps  turned 
down  into  a  ravine  densely  filled  with  live  oaks. 
Slowly  I  ventured  down,  and  tracked  his  wet  steps 
up  the  ravine,  after  looking  out  for  a  tree  into 
which  I  would  spring,  should  he  suddenly  turn  upon 
me.  His  droppings,  warm  and  smoking,  made  my 
heart  beat  quick,  for  surely  I  was  just  upon  him. 
Just  then  a  great  flock  of  quail  came  dashing  into  the 
ravine.  So  thick  they  were,  I  could  kill  at  a  single 
shot  a  good  meal  for  all  my  mess.  What  should  I 
do?  "A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the 
bush."  Quail  meat  is  better  than  bearsteak.  Be 
sides,  the  bear  may  dispute  my  title  to  it.  So  I 
let  fly  among  the  quail,  and  though  badly  torn  by 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA.  153 

my  revolver  balls,  I  bagged  a  good  mess  for  break 
fast,  and  returned  to  camp  in  time  to  help  dress 
and  cook  them. 

Speaking  of  the  game  which  in  that  day 
abounded  in  that  part  of  California,  I  may  add  that 
on  another  occasion,  a  few  days  before  we  took 
this  trip,  going  out  to  hunt  with  a  companion,  we 
saw  a  deer,  perhaps  eighty  rods  off.  My  compan 
ion  said,  "  You  go  and  shoot  him,  as  you  are  the 
best  shot."  I  skulked  around  the  hills  to  get  at 
him,  but  I  saw  a  couple  not  much  farther  off,  so  I 
went  for  them.  Just  as  I  was  about  to  shoot,  I 
saw  on  my  right  hand  a  very  fine,  large  buck,  so  1 
crawled  in  the  oats  to  get  at  him.  As  I  slowly 
rose  up  to  shoot,  my  attention  was  arrested  by 
the  broad  horns  of  an  elk  lying  in  the  shade  of  an 
oak,  not  twenty  rods  distant.  Leaving  the  buck,  I 
crawled  up  the  hill  to  shoot  the  elk,  as  I  had 
never  killed  one.  Before  I  reached  a  good 
shooting  point,  my  companion  fired  at  a  pass 
ing  herd  of  elk,  and  a  general  stampede  took 
place,  and  deer  and  elk  and  wild  cattle  were 
seen  running  in  several  directions.  A  wild  cow 
and  her  calf  came  near  me,  and  I  shot  the  calf 
and  wounded,  but  did  not  get,  the  cow.  On  another 
occasion  still,  I  counted  at  one  time  over  fifty  deer 
and  antelope  in  full  view. 

Resuming  our  journey  along  the  cattle  trails, 
pursuing  in  general  a  northerly  direction  from  San 
Simeon,  in  about  one  week's  time  we  came  upon 
the  Salinas  River  some  twenty  miles  above  the  old 
Catholic  Mission  of  Soledad,  or  Solitude. 


154  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

CROSSING  THE  DESERT  OF  SOLEDAD. 

We  staid  all  night  at  a  ranch  house  occupied 
by  a  man  who  could  speak  some  English.     In  the 
morning  we  inquired  about  the  trail  we  should  take 
to  reach  the  Mission — we  had  observed  there  were 
two  trails  deeply  worn  into  the  ground,  one  lead 
ing  to  the  left,  and  the  other  to  the   right.     The 
ranchman  said  take  the  right-hand  trail. 
"  Is  there  any  water  on  the  route?" 
"  Not  a  drop,  till  you  reach  Soledad." 
"  Is  there  any  on  the  right-hand  trail  ?" 
"  No."      There  had  been  no  rain  in  this  part  of 
the  country  for  three  years,  and  it  had  become  a 
desert  of  moving  sands. 

We  started  out,  and  soon  came  into  the  moving 
sands.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  all  was  a 
waste  of  sand  —  a  desert,  such  as  we  had  never 
crossed.  Our  water  supply  was  sadly  inadequate, 
and  we  concluded  it  would  be  rashness  to  venture 
on  as  we  were,  so  we  turned  back  to  get  a  larger 
supply.  We  had  but  a  single  camp  kettle,  holding 
two  quarts.  Alas !  we  could  get  nothing — not  even 
a  gourd-shell !  While  we  lingered  I  asked  an  old, 
impoverished  Indian  about  the  route,  and  when  I 
made  him  understand  our  inquiry  about  the  best 
trail,  he  pointed  to  that  on  the  left  hand.  I  asked, 
"  Is  there  any  water  on  it  ?" 

"  Mucho  aqua"  (much  water). 
And  when  I  asked,  "Rio  ?  "  (river)  he  replied, 
"  Poketo  aqua  "  (little  water). 

This  seemed  a  contradiction,  and  the  ranchman 


A  TRIP  TO   CALIFORNIA.  155 

said  he  was  an  old  fool,  but  his  evident  sincerity 
led  me  to  think  there  might  be  something  in  it. 

Filling  our  camp  kettle  we  started  out  again  and 
looked  off  upon  the  sandy  plain  before  us,  twenty 
miles  long,  and  ten  or  twelve  wide!  Coming  to 
the  sandy  border,  we  debated  the  question  of  the 
direction  we  should  take  over  the  desert — that 
leading  toward  the  hills  on  the  right,  or  those 
which  bounded  the  valley  on  the  left.  A  majority 
of  one  voted  to  take  the  left,  that  recommended 
by  the  Indian.  This  we  did,  because  there  was 
one  chance  of  finding  water  there,  while  that  chance 
was  wanting  for  the  other  route.  The  question 
decided,  we  plunged  directly  into  the  desert.  Not 
a  shrub  was  there,  or  weed,  or  one  blade  of  grass, 
not  a  bird,  or  rabbit,  or  squirrel,  or  animal,  save  per 
haps  now  and  then  a  horned  lizard  or  a  snake.  All 
traces  of  trail  were  buried  out  of  sight  and  our 
only  director  was  the  general  trend  of  the  adjacent 
barren  mountains.  We  had  not  proceeded  far 
before  a  sad  accident  befel  us  which  came  nigh 
costing  our  lives.  One  of  our  company,  Mr.  M. 
S.  Robinson,  had  been  intrusted  with  the  carrying 
of  our  precious  water.  Stumbling,  he  fell  prostrate. 
All  our  water  was  spilt,  s'ave  perhaps  a  pint  which 
we  used  at  once,  serving  only  to  moisten  our  dry 
lips  and  parched  throats.  Our  friend  Robinson 
had  a  special  facility  in  this  line.  He  could  "find 
an  occasion  of  stumbling,"  like  others  I  wot  of, 
in  very  small  obstacles.  And  when  once  under 
headway,  he  seldom  failed  to  improve  it,  even  if 


156  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

it  took  an  incline  of  a  full  rod  to  reach  the  ground! 
On  one  occasion,  as  I  wa^  laughing  at  one  of  his 
feats  in  this  line,  he  gravely  said,  "I  fall  upon  prin 
ciple!"  "No  doubt,"  I  replied,  "the  principle  of 
gravitation!"  "No,"  said  he,  "what  I  mean  is  that 
when  I  begin  to  stumble,  I  could  save  myself,  but 
it  would  wrench  me  so  to  do  it  that  I  find  it  easier 
to  go  ahead  and  fall  as  easily  as  I  can."  To  return 
from  this  digression,  taking  our  last  sip  of  water, 
we  bowed  toward  the  driving  hot  wind  and  pressed 
forward,  the  flying  flakes  of  sand  cutting  our  cheeks 
at  every  step,  and  obliging  us  nearly  to  close  our 
eyes. 

THE  MIRAGE. 

One  of  our*  company  looking  off  toward  the 
hills  some  four  miles  distant,  descried  what  he  took 
to  be  a  lake  of  sparkling  water.  With  a  hoarse 
outcry  and  a  wild  gesture  he  called  our  attention 
to  it.  We  turned  from  our  course  and  hastened 
toward  the  blessed  lake.  On  and  on  we  trudged 
for  a  couple  of  miles,  when  I  perceived  that  the 
lake  had  risen  from  the  valley  and  was  now  well 
up,  hanging  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  a  position  impos 
sible  for  real  water.  It  was  not  water,  it  was  only 
a  deceptive  pretence,  it  was  the  mirage!  I  ran  to 
the  foremost  and  seizing  him  by  the  shoulder,  I 
whispered  in  his  ear,  "Mirage!  Mirage!"  He 
looked  a  moment  in  blank  despair.  The  others 
coming  up,  stopped  and  gazed  and  were  convinced, 
and  then  we  all  turned  slowly  and  sorrowfully 
away  and  retraced  our  steps.  Not  one  word  was 


A  TRIP   TO   CALIFORNIA.  1 57 

said.  Our  mouths  and  throats  were  so  dry  we 
could  not  articulate.  At  length  there  appeared  in 
the  distance  before  us  the  tops  of  some  cotton  wood 
trees,. and  we  hastened  toward  one  of  them.  We 
hoped  to  find  some  water  there,  at  least  a  little 
shelter  from  the  blazing  sun.  At  length  we  reached 
it,  but  it  afforded  us  but  little  shade  and  no  water. 
But  we  pawed  holes  in  the  sand  and  buried  our 
feet  in  them.  I  distributed  some  raisins  and  perhaps 
prunes  (dried)  and  trying  to  masticate  them,  the 
saliva  began  to  flow,  the  throat  was  lubricated  and 
we  could  talk  once  more.  This  was  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  we  were  now  only 
about  half  way  across  the  desert.  It  was  not  the 
mere  time  we  had  spent  without  water  which 
affected  us  so  much,  it  was  the  burning  sand,  the 
dry  sirocco  which  drank  up  every  particle  of  mois 
ture  it  could  find  about  us.  My  companions  were 
usually  very  kind  to  me  and  always  polite  in  their 
speech,  but  now  they  began  to  upbraid  me  for 
leading  them  into  this  desert,  from  which  it  was 
doubtful  if  any  of  us  should  escape.  In  vain  I 
replied  that  a  majority  voted  to  take  it.  That  for 
aught  we  knew  the  other  route  might  be  as  bad  as 
this.  That  all  agreed  there  was  no  water  there. 
Every  argument  failing,  and  fearing  I  too  should 
lose  control  of  my  temper  if  I  reasoned  longer  with 
them,  I  rose  up  and  started  off  saying,  "I  am  going 
to  yonder  tree.  If  I  find  water  I  will  wave  my 
hat." 

I  had  proceeded  a  dozen  rods  or  so  when  there 


158  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

rose  gradually  before  me,  first  the  banks  of  a  creek, 
then  the  further  edge  of  a  stream  of  water,  then  a 
rivulet  some  three  rods  wide  and  twelve  rods  long ! 
Yonder  it  came,  booming  up  out  of  the  br.oiling 
sands,  and  yonder,  in  the  opposite  direction,  it 
sank  away  and  disappeared  from  sight !  All 
around  were  the  glistening,  burning  sands  !  Could 
this  be  the  mirage  again  in  a  new  form  ?  But  there 
were  boulders  in  the  stream !  Then  I  heard  the 
music  of  rippling  waters  running  over  the  tiny 
falls !  Scarcely  daring  to  believe  I  ran  to  the  bank, 
dipped  my  hand  into  the  cool  stream  and  dashed 
a  handful  into  my  mouth!  Oh,  it  was  water! 
water !  real  water ! !  and  then  swinging  my  hat 
wildly  around  my  head,  I  cried  out  in  a  clear 
voice  :  "  Water !  Water ! !  Ho !  every  one  that 
thirsts,  come  ye  to  the  waters !"  The  wind 
wrenched  my  hat  from  my  hand  and  it  went  bound 
ing  over  the  plain,  but  nearly  in  the  direction  of 
my  comrades.  At  my  shrill  call  they  all  sprang 
to  their  feet  and  ran,  some  to  intercept  my  rolling 
hat,  and  some  for  the  water  !  When  they  reached 
it  I  had  all  I  could  do  to  restrain  them  from  over 
draughts  which  might  be  fatal.  I  urged  them  all  first 
to  wash  their  faces  and  heads  and  then  drink  only 
a  handful  at  a  time.  Some  of  them  laid  down  in 
the  stream  with  all  their  clothes  on,  but  in  half  an 
hour  every  thread  was  dry.  Resting  here  half  an 
hour,  wading  about  in  the  water  and  a  imiring  the 
blessed  stream,  we  came  to  understand  what  the 
old  Indian  meant  when  he  said  of  it,  "  Mucho  aqua/' 


A  TRIP   TO   CALIFORNIA.  159 

much  water,  and  "  Poketo  aqua,"  little  water.  It 
was  indeed  ample  in  amount  but  little  and  short  as 
a  river.  Thoroughly  refreshed  we  left  the  blessed 
stream  and  renewed  our  journey.  Before  ten 
o'clock  that  night  we  had  reached  the  mission 
grounds  of  Soledad  and  were  housed. in  one  of  the 
adobe  stalls  where  had  lived  and  died  whole  gen 
erations  of  Indian  Catholic  converts.  This  was 
Saturday  night.  The  rest  of  the  Sabbath  which 
drew  on,  was  timely  and  refreshing.  Monday 
morning  at  break  of  day  we  left  the  Mission,  and 
wending  our  way  through  the  fog,  across  the 
Salinas  River,  we  proceeded  down  the  valley  on 
the  north  side.  As  the  fog  lifted,  an  immense  val 
ley  spread  out  before  us,  perhaps  twenty  miles 
wide  and  fifty  long.  It  was  covered  with  grass 
and  flowers  and  occasional  trees.  Vast  herds  of 
semi-wild  cattle  and  horses  were  gathered  in  clus 
ters  on  the  plains.  Not  being  accustomed  to  see 
men  in  our  costume  and  with  such  packs  on  their 
backs  as  we  prospective  miners  carried,  they  set 
up  a  wild  looing,  and  soon  they  came  running  to 
ward  us  till  not  less  than  5,000  horned  bullocks 
and  cows,  on  either  side,  gathered  in  solid  phalanx, 
and  pawed  the  ground  and  tore  it  up  with  their 
horns.  Some  of  the  old  bullocks  were  formidable 
indeed.  Several  times  I  drew  my  rifle  upon  one 
of  them,  but  hesitated  about  firing  till  he  came  a 
little  nearer.  Finally  they  gradually  drew  off,  the 
great  bullocks  being  the  last  to  give  way  and  re 
tire.  Taking  a  right-hand  trail  we  crossed  the 


l6o  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

Gabilan  Mountains  and  came  down  upon  the  little 
village  of  San  Juan.  There,  crossing  the  San 
Benito  River,  we  went  up  to  Gilroy.  There  was 
immense  excitement  there  at  that  time,  on  account 
of  the  discovery  of  a  quicksilver  mine,  the  "  New 
Almaden."  This  mine  has  been  worked  ever  since, 
now  some  thirty-seven  years,  and  has  produced 
millions  of  dollars  worth  of  quicksilver,  and  is  per 
haps,  the  richest  quicksilver  mine  in  the  world. 

From  Gilroy  we  went  to  San  Jose,  and  thence 
to  Martinas,  a  new  town  opposite  Benicia,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Sacramento  River.  Here  we  staid 
a  week,  because  we  could  not  get  a  boat  to  take  us 
over.  While  there  we  were  offered  fifty  dollars  a 
ton  for  simply  cutting  oat  hay  and  stacking  it  in  the 
field.  Perhaps  we  should  have  accepted  the  offer, 
but  there  was  not  a  scythe  in  Sacramento,  Benicia, 
or  even  in  San  Francisco,  which  could  be  bought 
for  less  than  fifty  dollars  ! 

So,  declining  the  tempting  offer,  we  were  taken 
over  to  Benicia  the  following  Sabbath,  in  a  ferry 
boat.  I  pointed  out  a  good  camping-place,  just  back 
of  the  Government  fort,  where  I  intended  to  spend 
the  Sabbath ;  but  my  companions,  sorely  disap 
pointed  by  our  week's  delay  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  were  minded  to  push  on  toward  the  mines — 
Sabbath  or  no  Sabbath,  and  while  I  tarried  a  little  to 
get  a  supply  of  bread,  they  rushed  by  the  camping- 
place  designated,  and  were  soon  hidden  from  view 
among  the  hills  around  which  the  trail  to  Marys- 
ville  led  us. 


A  TRIP  TO   CALIFORNIA.  l6l 

I  was  badly  encumbered  with  my  load  of  sup 
plies,  blankets,  etc.,  but  put  spurs  to  my  horse  to 
overtake  them  and  see  what  this  meant.  I  had  run 
my  horse  five  miles  before  they  were  overhauled. 
I  asked  what  this  meant,  and  they  replied  that,  so 
far,  they  had  listened  to  me,  and  had  kept  the  Sab 
bath — now,  in  fairness,  I  ought  to  yield  to  their 
wishes ;  that  they  were  in  a  hurry  to  reach  the 
mines,  make  some  money,  and  go  back  to  their 
friends  and  families. 

Why  did  they  not  let  me  know  that  at  Benicia  ? 
Then  they  could  have  gone  on  and  I  would  have 
staid  there?  "  Well,  you  have  broken  the  Sabbath 
already,  why  not  keep  on?"  We  had  quite  a  parley 
over  the  matter,  and  then  we  separated;  five  went 
on  and  three  of  us  spread  our  blankets  under  an 
oak,  sang  hymns,  read  the  Bible,  and  kept  the  Lord's 
day  according  to  the  Commandment.  Proceeding 
on  the  next  morning,  just  before  noon  we  reached 
a  fork  in  the  trail ;  one  diverging  off  to  the  right  led 
to  Sacramento,  the  other  led  to  Marysville  and  the 
Northern  mines,  our  destination.  I  perceived  at 
once  that  our  Sabbath-breaking  companions  had 
taken  the  wrong  trail  and  were  now  well  on  their 
way  toward  Sacramento.  Pursuing  our  way,  after 
several  days  of  travel  we  reached  Marysville,  but 
our  friends  were  not  there.  And  we  waited  for 
them  three  full  days,  when  at  length  they  came  up 
on  a  steamboat.  And  a  ragged  and  sorry  looking 
set  they  were,  and  about  as  thoroughly  ashamed 
of  themselves  as  men  well  could  be.  They  apolo- 


162  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

gized  frankly  and  humbly,  and  said  that  was  the 
last  of  their  Sabbath  breaking  in  California.  My 
only  reply  was  that  we  had  a  pleasant  time,  and 
inexpensive,  had  been  there  on  a  rest  for  three  days. 
Had  got  valuable  information  about  the  mines  and 
had  purchased  all  the  supplies  we  could  take  along, 
even  to  the  rocker,  and  all  we  had  to  do  was  to 
start  off  for  Foster's  Bar.  Nor  did  I  ever  allude  to 
it  afterward.  And  this  silence  I  believe  had  a  bet 
ter  effect  upon  them  than  any  lecture  I  could  have 
given  them.  Loading  ourselves  down  with  about 
seventy  pounds  each,  we  wended  our  weary  way  to 
ward  Foster's  Bar,  stopping  once  in  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  to  shift  our  galling  load  or  rest  a  while.  In  two 
days  we  reached  Foster's  Bar,  some  thirty  miles 
from  Marysville,  and  what  a  scene  of  busy  and  excit 
ed  labor  presented  itself!  A  hundred  men  at  work, 
as  for  dear  life.  Some  in  the  river,  some  on  the 
bank,  shoveling  gravel  into  buckets,  carrying  it  to 
the  rockers,  rocking  out  the  gold,  occasionally 
lifting  the  apron  to  see  how  fast  the  gold  was  gath 
ering  at  the  rifle,  etc.,  etc.  The  Juba  River  was 
broad  here,  spreading  out  over  a  large  gravelly 
flat  called  a  bar,  on  which  the  gold  washed  down 
from  above  had  been  accumulating  for  centuries. 
This  was  our  first  sight  of  gold-mining.  Inquiring 
of  the  men  how  much  they  were  taking  out  per 
hand  a  day,  the  general  answer  was,  from  twelve 
to  twenty  dollars  a  day.  Some  answered  rather 
curtly,  "  Congress  wages!"  e.  g.,  eight  dollars  a 
day! 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA.  163 

GOODYEAR'S  BAR. 

The  next  day  we  went  over  the  mountains  and 
came  down  upon  the  Juba  again  at  Goodyear's 
bar.  It  was  like  Jordan,  a  hard  road  to  travel. 
And  when  we  came  down  upon  the  river,  having 
carried  our  heavy  loads  of  from  sixty  to  eighty 
pounds  each,  over  twenty-five  miles  that  day,  we 
were  none  of  us  in  a  very  happy  mood.  We  were 
all  footsore,  our  joints  all  ached,  we  were  fagged 
out,  hungry,  "ragged  and  saucy!"  Scarce  a  word 
had  been  spoken  for  the  last  five  miles.  But  all  of 
us  kept  up  a  "terrible  thinking!"  If  any  of  our 
company  were  wont  to  swear,  I  fear  they  would 
have  given  vent  to  their  feelings  in  that  way,  could 
they  have  found  any  words  in  the  language  equal 
to  the  situation.  But  at  last  in  the  dusky  twilight 
we  reached  the  bar  and  each  threw  off  his  load  and 
threw  himself  also  upon  the  ground.  Turning  to 
me  they  said  in  censorious  tones,  "Well,  Captain, 
what  are  you  going  to  do  now?"  They  had  eaten 
no  dinner  that  day  save  a  cracker  or  two,  for  the 
good  reason  we  had  none  to  eat,  and  were  out  of 
money  all  around.  I  replied,  "Cheer  up,  boys! 
build  up  a  good  rousing  fire!  We  will  have  a  good 
supper,  then  a  good  sleep  and  to-morrow  we  will 
try  the  gold  digging!"  Some  one  grunted  forth 
his  scornful  "Humph?"  We  had  observed  a  lighted 
tent  not  far  off,  into  which  persons  were  going,  and 
we  took  it  to  be  a  store.  So  leaving  my  messmates 
to  make  the  fire,  I  stumbled  over  the  logs  and  went 
to  it.  Two  men  were  waiting  on  customers,  deal- 


164  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

ing  out  supplies  at  enormous  prices,  and  weighing 
out  gold  dust  and  nuggets  in  tiny  scales.  One  of 
them  I  took  to  be  the  proprietor.  Approaching 
him  as  soon  as  he  was  at  leisure,  I  said,  "My  name 
is  Bristol ;  I  am  one  of  a  company  of  seven  persons. 
We  are  fresh  from  the  States.  We  are  all  strapped, 
out  of  money,  out  of  provisions,  and  as  you  see, 
nearly  out  of  clothing.  We  have  come  here  to 
mine,  and  we  want  some  provisions,  such  as  flour, 
bacon,  coffee,  sugar,  salt,  rice,  etc..  and  besides  this 
we  want  ten  dollars  in  money  to  pay  for  some 
freight  now  coming  down  the  mountain."  "Do 
you  know  anybody  here?"  he  asked.  "Not  a  soul," 
I  answered.  He  quietly  took  out  his  memorandum 
book  and  said,  "What  name?"  then  how  much  flour, 
bacon,  etc.,  gave  the  list  to  his  clerk  to  fill  out  for 
me,  then — "How  much  money?"  and  gave  me  a  ten 
dollar  gold  piece,  and  quietly  went  to  other  cus 
tomers.  I  gathered  up  my  arms  full  of  provisions 
and  was  soon  at  the  fire  my  companions  were  slowly 
building.  When  I  laid  them  down  before  them, 
their  faces  lighted  up,  and  each  lent  a  hand  to  hurry 
up  the  supper.  But  before  we  were  through,  the 
train  of  packed  mules  came  down  bearing  our 
freight,  and  when  I  paid  the  ten  dollars  due,  they 
asked,  "How  did  you  get  that?"  I  answered^  "I 
asked  for  it!"  and  they  turned  away  and  said, 
"Well,  if  you  have  not  cheek!"  Three  months  after 
this,  in  settling  a  large  bill  with  this  same  trader,  I 
expressed  to  him  my  surprise  that  at  my  first  inter 
view  he  had  trusted  me  so  largely  and  so  readily! 


A  TRIP  TO  CALIFORNIA.  165 

He  laughed  and  said,  "I  am  seldom  deceived  in 
men,  and  after  the  frank  and  straightforward  state 
ment  you  made,  I  knew  I  was  dealing  with  a  square 
man  and  I  would  have  trusted  you  to  almost  any 
amount." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MINING. 

The  next  day  we  crossed  the  river  on  an  im 
mense  pine  tree  which  had  fallen  across  the  stream. 
It  was  probably  from  150  to  200  feet  long  and  as 
we  went  across  one  at  a  time  it  swayed  up  and 
down  in  the  middle  perhaps  five  or  six  feet,  and 
it  made  one's  head  swim  to  look  down  into  water 
ten  or  twelve  feet  deep,  rushing  beneath  us  like  a 
mill  stream.  Some  of  us  lay  down  and  crawled 
over  it.  Passing  a  brush  house,  a  couple  of  fellows 
just  crawling  out  of  their  blankets  hailed  us, 
"Hallo!  just  from  God's  country?"  "Yes!"  "Well! 
call  in,  we  want  to  inquire  about  things."  We 
stopped  and  after  awhile  they  proposed  to  show 
us  some  specimens  of  the  gold  they  were  taking 
from  their  mines  near  by.  One  of  them  named 
Eaton  said,  "Stuart,  where  did  you  put  it?"  He 
fumbled  about  in  the  blankets  and  drew  forth  a 
shot  bag  partly  filled  with  gold  and  we  took  it  out 
in  handfuls.  It  was  mostly  in  lumps  about  as 
large  as  lead-drops,  or  the  size  of  kernels  of  corn, 
and  bright  and  beautiful.  They  showed  us  favor 
able  locations  near  them  not  yet  taken  up,  and  we 
went  to  work  with  a  will.  In  a  couple  of  hours 
we  had  found  a  specimen  worth  about  three  dollars, 

(166) 


MINING.  167 

very  much  in  shape  of  a  heart.  One  of  my  partners 
who  had  a  lady-love  in  the  States  said,  "I  want  that 
to  send  .to  the  'girl  I  left  behind  me.'  I  wish  to 
send  it  as  a  token  of  the  heart  which  in  the  mines 
still  is  hers,  and  as  a  pledge  that  the  gold  I  get 
shall  all  be  hers."  Of  course  I  could  not  resist 
such  an  appeal.  I  might  add,  however,  that  my 
friend,  after  sending  this  and  sundry  other  sums 
to  his  fair  correspondent  and  affianced,  returned  a 
couple  of  years  after  only  to  find  his  bird  of  Paradise 
had  flown  and  was  fondly  nestling  with  another. 
He  wrote  me  that  he  was  ''terribly  disgusted!'' 
Very  likely.  We  had  reached  the  mines  about 
the  first  of  June  and  we  wrought  on  with  the  usual 
varying  success  of  miners,  but  averaging  about  six 
or  eight  dollars  a  day,  for  the  months  of  June,  July, 
August,  September  and  October. 

ROUGH  TREATMENT. 

About  the  first  of  November,  having  worked 
out  our  claims,  we  went  up  the  river  to  Downey- 
ville.  On.  my  way  there,  as  we  passed  Coy otaville, 
a  tall  man,  sitting  by  a  rocker,  hailed  me.  He 
proved  to  be  one  Dr,  Welber,  whose  acquaintance 
I  had  made  on  the  "  Sarah  Sands,"  on  our  way  up 
from  Panama.  And  here  occurred  an  encounter 
with  a  rough,  of  which  I  hesitate  to  write  lest  the 
reader  should  regard  my  action  as  savoring  too 
much  of  the  "  Fighting  Parson,"  and  as  being  quite 
unministerial  if  not  unchristian.  However,  as  it 
was  more  ludicrous  than  serious,  I  will  give  it  for 


l68  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

all  it  is  worth,  and  as  it  occurred.  While  convers 
ing  with  Dr.  Welber,  the  owner  of  the  adjoining 
claim  came  over  the  heap  of  boulders  piled  up  be 
tween  the  two  claims,  and  the  Doctor  introduced 
me  to  him.  In  doing  so  Dr.  Welber  remarked 
that  I  had  preached  some  excellent  sermons  to 
them  on  the  ship.  As  he  said  this  I  noticed  a  look 
of  alarm  upon  Dr.  W.'s  face ;  also  a  broad  and  sur 
prised  smile  on  the  face  of  the  other. 

"A  minister!"  said  he,  "A  minister!!''  Dr. 
Welber  said,  in  an  undertone,  "  You  let  him  alone  ; 
he  is  a  friend  of  mine."  "  Not  much !"  was  the 
reply,  "  will  we  let  him  alone !"  "  It  is  all  my 
fault,"  continued  Welber,  "  I  called  him  down 
here;  but  you  will  catch  a  Tartar  if  you  go  to 
bothering  him." 

But  our  new  acquaintance  was  not  to  be  foiled 
by  any  such  considerations.  He  despised  minis 
ters  and  church  members.  He  would  have  some 
fun  at  their  expense.  A  ludicrous  story  to  tell  at 
the  saloon,  not  once  nor  twice.  He  had  "  struck 
it  rich."  He  stood  high  among  the  miners  at  the 
bar.  He,  too,  like  Welber,  was  a  doctor,  from 
Illinois.  He  was  the  one  who  organized  a  club  on 
the  bar,  one  of  whose  resolutions  was  to  treat  to  a 
dose  of  mud  any  clergyman  who  should  chance  to  come 
upon  their  bar!  Well,  he  mounted  the  pile  of  boul 
ders,  and  swinging  his  hat,  he  cried  out :  "  Hear 
ye !  Hear  ye !  O  yes !  O  yes !  Every  miner 
quit  his  work !  Hurry  here !  There  is  fun  ahead  ! 
Big  fun !  Come  one !  Come  all !"  Instantly ,  from 


MINING.  169 

up  the  river  and  down,  the  rockers  ceased  their 
rattle  and  the  miners  came  vaulting  over  the  piles 
of  boulders,  and  in  five  minutes  some  thirty  to  fifty 
were  on  hand,  and  more  coming. 

I  suppose  I  could  have  got  away  by  hard  run 
ning  if  I  had  started  quick  enough.  But  I  have  a 
constitutional  reluctance  to  using  my  legs  in  that 
way  unless  the  danger  is  quite  extreme ;  so  I  had 
treated  the  matter  as  of  little  moment,  and  contin 
ued  to  talk  with  Dr.  Welber.  As  the  crowd  gath 
ered,  Dr.  Welber  begged  them  to  spare  me  as  his 
friend  ;  but  they  wanted  fun.  Like  the  pugnacious 
Irishman,  they  were  "spoiling  for  a  round  or 
two,"  and  they  would  not  hear,  but  bade  their  cap 
tain  put  him  through  !  He  seized  my  collar  and 
said  :  "  Enough  of  this  gab  !  Dry  up,  Parson !  I 
will  show  you  how  we  do  it !"  So  saying  he  gave 
me  a  violent  jerk  which  brought  my  right  hand 
against  his  neck, — my  left  hand  was  resting  on  a 
windlass  post — very  naturally  it  grasped  a  hand 
ful  of  his  shirt-collar  and  vest,  and  perhaps  some 
of  the  flabby  flesh  adjacent.  There  came  over  me 
a  strange  spasm  of  impulsive  energy,  giving  me 
about  thrice  my  ordinary  strength,  and  without 
taking  my  left  hand  off  the  windlass,  his  feet  left  the 
ground,  and  half  way  around  the  windlass  he  land 
ed  upon  his  back  in  a  puddle  of  water !  What  a 
shout  went  up  from  every  miner's  mouth — save 
one  !  His  hold  upon  me  was  not  broken,  and  he 
sprang  up.  Seeing  that  I  was  in  for  it  I  let  go  of 
the  post  and  took  hold  with  both  hands,  in  wrest- 


I/O  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

ler's  style,  knocked  his  feet  from  under  him  and 
laid  him  on  his  back  again  !  Jerking  him  up  again 
I  threw  him  from  me,  ten  feet  distant,  against  a  pile 
of  rocks !  I  intended  this  should  end  it,  but  the 
wicked  eye  which  looked  at  me  as  he  was  rising,  in~ 
stantly  changed  my  mind.  I  thought  he  might 
have  a  dirk  or  pistol  and  I  resolved  to  shake  that 
out  of  him  quick,  so  I  sprang  like  a  cat  upon  him, 
and,  seizing  him  by  the  pants  and  collar,  I  gave 
him  such  a  shaking  up  as  made  him  limpy  as  a 
rag.  "Will  you  behave?"  I  asked,  energetically. 
Not  answering,  I  started  with  him  for  the  river, 
some  eight  rods  distant.  Once  in  a  rod  or  so  I 
repeated  my  question  and  emphasized  it  with  a 
fresh  shaking  up.  Meanwhile  the  crowd  followed, 
making  the  welkin  ring  with  their  laughter  and 
shouting.  When  within  a  rod  of  the  river  he  cried 
out,  "Enough,  Parson!"  and  I  threw  him  down, 
saying,  "  The  next  minister  who  comes  along  here 
do  you  treat  him  decently.''  Wishing  to  get 
through  the  dirty  job  as  soon  as  possible  I  now 
turned  to  the  largest  man  among  them ;  but  he 
gracefully  stepped  back,  bowed,  and  said,  "No,  I 
thank  you  !  You  will  pass!'' 

As  no  one  else  seemed  disposed  to  try  his  hand 
at  "  dirtying  the  minister's  coat,"  I  tried  to  resume 
my  conversation  with  Dr.  Welber  as  if  nothing 
special  had  happened ;  but  his  mirth  knew  no 
bounds.  He  laughed  and  fairly  roared,  and  so  did 
the  rest,  even  the  members  of  the  club.  They 
were  not  malicious  men.  They  wanted  fun  and 


MINING.  171 

they  had  got  it,  and  they  cared  little  at  whose  ex 
pense.  Dr.  Welber  soon  introduced  me  to  the 
miners,  each  by  name,  and  soon  we  got  into  a  live 
ly  conversation.  They  said  they  hoped  I  would 
not  regard  them  as  the  worst  of  men  if  they  were 
a  little  rough,  etc.  I  said  I  could  easily  believe 
that,  for  1  had  seen  several  men  before !  They 
said  they  "  should  judge  so."  Meanwhile  my  as 
sailant,  the  Illinois  doctor,  sat  on  a  stone,  looking 
as  foolish  and  crestfallen  as  a  picked  goose. 

And  now  the  miners  were  eager  to  have  me  go 
to  their  tents  and  take  dinner  with  them.  They 
wanted  me  to  stop  on  the  Bar.  They  would  help 
me  to  a  good  claim.  And  if  I  would  preach  to 
them  the  next  Sabbath  they  would  all  turn  out, 
would  help  in  the  singing,  and  they  assured  me  the 
best  of  order  should  be  maintained,  and  that  the 
resolution  to  put  ministers  through  an  initiatory 
course  of  sprouts  should  thence  onward  be  consid 
ered  as  antiquated  and  annulled.  Within  two 
days  I  had  bought  a  claim  for  over  three  thousand 
dollars,  two  thousand  of  which  was  loaned  me  by 
these  same  miners,  without  interest,  and  with  no 
security  save  only  my  note  and  name. 

The  Illinois  doctor  did  not  feel  like  working 
that  afternoon,  so  he  went  over  to  Downieville. 
But  the  story  of  his  unsuccessful  effort  to  dirty  the 
minister's  coat  had  preceded  him.  They  piled  the 
questions  about  it,  and  the  jokes  upon  him  so  thick, 
that  he  had  to  treat  men  to  let  him  off,  and  when 
he  came  back  that  night  he  said  it  had  cost  him 


172  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

one  hundred  dollars  to  pay  for  the  drinks!  Poor 
fellow,  he  soon  sold  his  claim  and  left  for  another 
camp.  The  following  Sabbath  I  preached  to  quite 
a  congregation.  As  no  house  could  hold  us,  our 
meeting  was  held  outdoors  and  I  preached  to  them 
literally  standing  on  a  rock.  Better  order,  or 
closer  attention  no  man  could  wish  to  have,  and 
so  it  was  for  the  following  four  months,  and  till  my 
claim  was  worked  out  and  I  went  elsewhere.  The 
same  miners  voted  me  afterward  a  share  in  a  claim 
worth  at  the  time  a  thousand  dollars,  and  1  do  not 
think  my  vigorous  self-defence  narrated  above, 
detracted  in  the  least  from  my  moral  and  religious 
influence. 

THE  BOXING  MANIA  SQUELCHED  BY  A  NEGRO. 

A  colored  man  by  name  of  Isaac  Isaacs  accom 
panied  me  from  New  York  to  the  mines,  and  as 
colored  men  had  in  those  days  "no  rights  which 
white  men  were  bound  to  respect/'  I  took  him 
under  my  special  charge,  and  as  by  miners'  law  in 
California  he  could  not  hold  a  claim,  I  took  him 
as  a  partner  and  he  worked  on  my  claim.  He  was 
a  man  of  gigantic  proportions,  of  enormous  strength, 
quick  as  a  cat,  and  tough  as  a  bear.  Withal  he  was 
brimful  of  good  nature,  and  above  all,  he  was  an 
honest  Christian.  He  was  the  strongest  man  I 
ever  saw.  His  arms  were  long  and  his  great  broad 
hands,  when  spread  out,  as  they  hung  down,  looked 
like  a  pair  of  spades.  During  the  winter  of  my 
stay  at  Coyotaville,  boxing  became  all  the  rage 


MINING.  173 

at  the  city  of  Downieville.  In  the  course  of  the 
winter,  a  Kentuckian  became  the  acknowledged 
champion  of  the  ring.  He  was  very  proud  of  his 
position  and  boasted  much.  Some  one  suggested 
that  Isaac,  or  "Bristol's  negro"  as  he  called  him, 
was  more  than  a  match  for  him.  This  the  boxer 
resented  with  scorn.  "No  nigger  walked  the  green 
earth  he  could  not  whip.  Had  he  not  done  it  on 
his  father's  plantation  in  old  Kentuck  half  a  hun 
dred  times?"  The  dispute  soon  rose  high,  and  the 
betting  went  up  into  large  figures.  One  morning 
as  I  was  about  to  go  down  the  river  on  business, 
I  saw  a  crowd  of  a  hundred  men  coming  toward 
my  cabin  from  Downieville.  When  they  came 
near  I  was  introduced  to  this  famous  pugilist.  He 
explained  the  situation  politely  and  somewhat 
braggadocially,  assuring  me  he  "would  not  hurt  the 
nigger"  he  "only  wanted  to  show  how  superior  a 
white  man  was  to  a  nigger!"  I  replied  that  we  did 
not  believe  in  boxing  here  in  Coyotaville,  and  I 
could  not  suffer  the  brutal  contest.  That  I  had  no 
special  fear  that  he  could  hurt  Isaac,  but  Isaac  was 
a  Christian  and  of  course  would  not  engage  in  the 
dangerous  and  useless  contest.  It  aroused  his 
mettle  somewhat  to  hear  me  intimate  that  he  could 
not  hurt  Isaac,  and  strutting  back  he  uttered  his 
scorn  of  the  negro's  strength  and  prowess,  however 
large.  1  surveyed  him  from  head  to  foot  and  saw 
clearly  he  was  no  match  for  Isaac,  and  briefly  said, 
'•No,  the  fisticuff  must  not  come  off  here."  They 
lingered  around  in  scattered  groups.  No  sooner 


174  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

had  1  left  and  gone  over  the  hill  and  out  of  sight, 
than  a  rush  was  made  for  my  cabin.  Isaac  was 
washing  dishes.  They  bade  him  come  out  and 
have  some  rounds  with  the  champion  pugilist.  He 
refused  and  then  the  boxer  came  up  and  said,  "We 
have  made  a  bet  and  I  am  going  to  lick  you  and 
get  the  money."  Reluctantly  Isaac  went  out,  but 
said,  "I  have  no  chance  with  a  white  man.  Should 
I  beat  him  he  would  draw  a  pistol  upon  me,"  "No! 
no!"  said  the  crowd,  "we  will  see  you  have  fair 
play."  "Well,  I  believe  in  self  defence,"  said  Isaac, 
and  then  tried  to  put  on  the  gloves.  Alas!  they 
were  by  far  too  small.  They  were  thrown  aside 
and  Isaac  squared  himself  for  the  trial,  saying, 
"Come  on,  let  us  have  it  over  quickly."  Those  who 
saw  it  said  the  sight  of  that  negro  was  the  most 
magnificent  spectacle  in  that  line  they  had  ever 
witnessed.  He  showed  the  trained  boxer  that  he 
was,  having  been  taught  in  his  youth  in  Philadel 
phia.  As  the  boxer  came  up,  his  passes  were  easily 
neutralized  by  those  long  arms  and  those  quick 
motions.  The  first  pass  made  by  Isaac  planted  a 
gentle  knock  on  the  boxer's  nose!  Then  another, 
and  another,  till  sixteen  times  in  succession  that 
gentle  knock  on  the  nose  had  been  made,  without 
having  once  been  touched  on  the  body  by  his 
antagonist!  The  sixteenth,  however,  was  a  little 
harder  than  the  others,  and  was  followed  by  a 
stream  of  blood!  Isaac  expressed  his  sorrow,  but 
the  boxer  now  boiling  over  with  wrath  at  the  jeers 
of  the  crowd,  many  of  whom  had  been  bruised  by 


MINING.  1/5 

him,  and  finding  he  could  not  touch  Isaac  with  his 
fists,  kicked  at  his  abdomen  spitefully.  The  negro's 
quick  hand  seized  the  foot  as  it  came  toward  him 
and  throwing  it  into  the  air  the  man  came  down 
upon  his  head  and  shoulders.  Rising  up  he  drew  his 
dirk  knife  and  was  about  to  rush  upon  Isaac  when 
the  crowd  interfered  and  carried  him  off  the  ground 
and  back  to  Downieville  by  force.  Thenceforth 
and  for  years  it  was  admitted  that  a  negro  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  boxing  gentry  in  those  parts, 
and  the  demoralizing  and  brutal  sport  passed  into 
well-deserved  ignominy  and  neglect. 

OAK   RANCH   AND    RANCHING. 

The  following  spring  I  took  up  a  vegetable 
ranch,  over  in  the  mountains,  near  the  head  of 
Goodyear's  creek,  some  eight  miles  from  Downie 
ville,  and  at  the  base  of  Monte  Cristo,  and  asso 
ciated  with  me  Dr.  Welber,  before  spoken  of. 
We  called  it  "  Oak  Flat."  I  insisted  upon  two  ex 
plicit  agreements  as  indispensable  to  the  partnership. 
One  was  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath;  the  other 
that  no  liquor  should  be  sold  upon  the  premises. 
We  planted  a  large  garden  and  bought  a  number  of 
milch  cows.  Soon  we  began  to  take  horses  to  pas 
ture,  till  we  had  two  hundred  at  a  time.  Our 
charge  was  a  dollar  a  week.  Miners  began  to  get 
their  supplies  from  us,  as  we  could  easily  bring 
freight  from  Downieville  by  the  pack  mules  which 
we  sent  there  daily  with  kegs  of  milk.  They  also 
left  with  us  their  buckskin  bags  of  gold  dust. 


176  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

Within  a  few  weeks  a  great  amount  of  travel  came 
past  our  door,  and  not  a  few  were  the  controver. 
sies  we  had  over  the  liquor  question.  We  always 
kept,  in  the  corner  of  our  great  fireplace,  a  huge 
coffee  kettle  and  a  teapot,  steaming  and  ready  for 
use,  while  a  spring  of  pure  cold  water  sparkled 
near  the  door.  Nearly  every  day  a  squad  of  min 
ers,  or  rather  several  of  them,  would  ride  up  to 
our  door  and  call  for  something  to  drink.  My 
answer  usually  was  in  substance  this :  "  Here  is 
hot  coffee,  with  milk  and  sugar  to  season  it ;  or  if 
you  prefer  it,  there  is  a  good  cup  of  tea,  hot  and 
savory.  If  neither  of  these  suit  you,  there  is 
*  Adam's  Ale/  conducted  here  from  a  mountain 
spring,  pure  and  cold  as  that  which  impearled  its 
way  through  the  garden  of  Eden ;  but  if  you  want 
the  stuff  which  makes  a  man  a  fool,  eats  a  hole 
through  his  stomach  and  his  pocket  too,  impover 
ishes  his  family  and  sends  him  to  a  premature 
grave,  we  don't  keep  it!" 

The  boldness  and  emphasis  with  which  this,  or 
something  like  it,  was  said,  sometimes  quelled  op 
position,  but  not  unfrequently  some  such  words  as 
these  followed :  "  What  do  you  keep  a  public 
house  for,  if  you  have  no  liquor?"  "We  don't. 
This  is  a  private  house  and  ranch  ;  but  if  people 
come  along  here  hungry  and  thirsty  we  give  them 
such  as  we  have.  If  they  are  disposed  to  pay  for 
it,  well ;  and  if  not,  they  never  go  from  our  house 
hungry.  But  we  never  send  a  man  away  drunk! 
And  if  any  of  you  die  in  California  of  drunkenness, 


MINING.  177 

as  many  of  you  will,  your  friends  shall  never  point 
the  finger  at  us  and  say,  '  You  did  it  T  "  "  Well,  if 
you  keep  a  private  house  of  course  you  have  a 
right  to  do  as  you  see  fit.  Let  us  try  some  of  your 
coffee  and  see  how  it  will  taste  once  more  with 
cream  and  sugar  in  it."  After  "  a  good  square 
meal,"  as  they  usually  called  it,  with  vegetables 
fresh  from  the  garden,  they  would  generally  say  : 
"  Well,  we  are  glad  to  see  your  pluck  and  princi 
ple  !  Wish  more  had  it.  It  would  have  been  a 
fortune  to  many  of  us."  And  when  they  left,  it 
was  with  a  warm  shake  of  the  hand  and  a  promise 
to  call  again.  Sometimes  a  hardened  wretch 
would  swear  at  us  and  curse  us,  but  I  used  to  re 
quest  them  not  to  take  God's  name  in  vain,  and  if 
they  must  do  it  they  must  leave  the  house.  One 
such  case,  and  its  interesting  sequel,  I  will  relate. 

WON   OVER   TO   TEMPERANCE,   AND   HOW. 

It  was  that  of  a  man  from  Calais,  Maine,  by 
name  of  Cooper.  He  had  been  a  tavern  keeper  in 
that  State,  and  from  ail  accounts  had  been  his  own 
best  customer  at  the  bar.  Quarreling  with  the 
temperance  movement  there,  and  I  believe  with 
his  wife  also,  he  migrated  to  California,  for  some 
reason  taking  along  with  him  his  two  boys,  one 
aged  twelve  years,  and  the  other  nine.  When  he 
heard  our  response  to  his  call  for  whiskey  he  flew 
into  a  rage,  cursing  temperance  people  and  saying 
that  he  left  Maine  to  get  away  from  them,  and 
here  they  were,  away  off  among  the  mountains  of 


1 78  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

California !  Poor,  persecuted  man ;  like  Noah's 
dove,  he  found  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  his  foot!  I 
had  to  laugh  at  his  confession.  This  enraged  him 
still  more,  and  he  became  so  boisterous,  profane 
and  insulting,  that  I  told  him  he  must  stop  swear 
ing  or  leave  the  house.  He  went  out  and  stood 
before  our  door,  and  opened  his  mouth  wide  to  let 
out  the  big  words  of  malediction  against  temper 
ance  and  all  temperance  men  and  temperance 
women,  against  the  owners  of  this  ranch,  against 
the  Church,  the  Bible,  and  perhaps  his  Maker  too  ! 
Tired  out  at  length,  he  built  a  fire  before  our  door, 
and  there  he  boiled  his  coffee  and  fried  his  bacon. 
The  two  boys  looked  at  their  father,  as  he  raved 
and  tore  about,  with  an  expression  on  their  faces 
which  showed  clearly  they  were  accustomed  to 
such  outbursts  of  passion,  but  that  they  could  not 
appreciate  the  cause. 

We  took  no  notice  of  what  he  said,  but  kept 
about  our  work.  We  had  that  day  made  a  hasty 
pudding,  and  with  milk  it  was  a  rarity  for  miners 
in  those  days.  Seeing  the  boys  look  wistfully  at 
it  I  took  out  a  couple  of  bowls  of  the  mush  and 
milk  and  set  it  down  by  them,  with  some  kind 
words  to  them,  which  showed  that  I  had  not  for 
gotten  that  I  was  once  a  boy  myself.  Sour  and 
mad  as  their  father  was  he  had  not  the  heart  to 
forbid  their  touching  it,  so  they  turned  from  the 
greasy  bacon  and  coffee,  and  eagerly  went  for  the 
mush  and  milk.  It  did  one  good  to  see  them  eat. 
Their  bowls  empty,  I  filled  them  again.  Their 


MINING.  179 

father  became  less  noisy  but  did  not  thank  us  or 
appear  to  notice  what  we  had  done.  As  they 
packed  up  and  moved  on  we  bade  the  boys  good 
bye,  and  invited  them  to  call  again ;  we  should 
have  some  watermelons  by  and  by. 

About  three  weeks  after  who  should  appear  one 
Sabbath  morning  but  this  same  Cooper  of  Maine, 
and  his  two  boys!  He  was  now  quite  pleasant; 
had  come  to  buy  a  bowl  of  that  mush  and  milk 
such  as  we  gave  the  boys.  Did  not  care  if  he  took 
a  bowl  himself ;  it  would  remind  him  of  home  and 
old  times.  Ignoring  all  the  past,  we  made  haste 
to  accommodate  them.  They  ate  and  ate  till  satis 
fied.  What  was  the  pay?  Nothing  for  the  boys! 
We  liked  to  see  them ;  we  had  boys  at  home. 
They  should  always  have  a  free  seat  at  our  table, 
come  when  they  might.  As  for  himself  he  might 
pay  the  usual  price.  Toward  evening  they  went 
back,  but  we  noticed  as  they  went,  it  was  with 
reluctant  steps  and  many  a  lingering  look  behind. 
Two  weeks  from  that  Sunday  they  came  again, 
came  early,  and  Cooper  said  we  had  stolen  the 
hearts  of  his  boys  and  their  stomachs  too.  They 
had  been  talking  about  Oak  Flat  Ranch  about  half 
the  time!  When  should  they  go  over  again?  How 
beautiful  those  peas  and  corn  looked!  And  those 
melon  vines,  and  squashes,  and  new  potatoes,  and 
how  good  that  mush  and  milk  would  taste  again! 
Well,  it  was  hard  fare  for  boys  like  them  to  have, 
bacon  and  coffee  and  beans  served  up  to  them  three 
times  a  day  with  unvarying  monotony!  In  fact, 


180  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

he  sometimes  himself  hankered  after  fresh  vege 
tables.  An  idea  had  struck  him  that  possibly  his 
oldest  boy  could  be  of  some  use  to  us,  waiting  on 
the  table  and  watching  the  house  when  we  were 
out.  Could  he  pay  for  his  board  in  this  way  and 
perhaps  earn  a  little  over,  enough  to  encourage 
him  to  do  his  best?  This  was  a  new  thought  to 
us.  We  would  think  it  over.  Let  him  stay  a 
week  and  try  his  hand.  We  would  let  him  know 
when  next  he  came.  So  he  departed,  leaving  his 
oldest  boy.  We  had  two  easy  riding  mules,  very 
docile  and  we  used  them  to  pack  kegs  of  milk  over 
to  Downieville.  The  boy  took  quite  a  fancy  to 
them  and  before  the  week  was  out  he  had  learned 
to  take  them  to  town  walking  down  the  steep 
mountain  slopes  and  riding  the  rest  of  the  way. 
When  his  father  came  the  following  Sabbath,  we 
told  him  we  liked  the  boy  and  had  concluded  we 
could  give  him  three  dollars  a  day,  for  six  days  in 
the  week.  Perhaps  we  could  clothe  him  too,  if  he 
proved  faithful.  Cooper  got  up  and  stared  at  us. 
"  Three  dollars  a  day  and  board!  That  is  eighteen 
dollars  a  week,  and  seventy-two  dollars  a  month!  That 
is  more  than  I  have  taken  from  the  mines  so  far!" 
Yes,  we  thought  we  could  afford  it.  He  was  a 
fine  boy.  It  would  pay  to  encourage  such  a  boy. 
He  will  be  a  man  by  and  by.  But  we  stipulated 
that  the  first  $200  of  the  boy's  earnings  he 
might  send  to  his  mother  as  a  present  from  his  own 
earnings.  He  readily  assented.  I  believe  there 
were  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  down  deep  in  his  heart 


MINING.  l8l 

I  think  repentings  were  kindling  together.  He 
went  away  happy,  and  when  he  reached  the  camp, 
I  have  no  idea  that  he  cursed  the  "bigoted  Puri 
tans  of  Oak  Flat."  But  now,  and  all  the  following 
week  the  younger  boy  was  pining  for  the  ranch. 
"Why  could  not  Mr.  Bristol  and  Dr.  Welber  take 
him  too?"  He  could  work,  could  bring  in  the 
wood,  sweep  the  floor,  watch  the  house  while  his 
brother  was  gone  to  town,  could  feed  the  chickens 
as  well  as  eat  watermelons  and  mush  and, milk, 
green  corn  and  peas!  The  next  Sabbath  Cooper 
and  the  younger  boy  came  again.  He  told  us  of 
the  boy's  pleading  during  the  week.  Could  we 
not  use  him  so  as  to  pay  his  board?  We  would 
try  him  a  week.  Saturday  night  he  came  and  we 
made  answer  that  we**  would  give  him  his  board 
and  a  dollar  a  day  for  six  days,  or  twenty-six  dollars 
a  month!  And  now  the  father  was  completely 
won.  He  was  evidently  trying  to  quit  drinking. 
He  was  no  more  profane  and  low  in  his  talk.  He 
was  cleaner  in  person,  more  rational  and  gentle 
manly  in  demeanor.  Every  week  he  was  sure  to 
come  to  the  ranch  Saturday  evening.  At  last  he 
proposed  to  give  up  mining  and  come  and  work 
for  us.  We  told  him  we  could  not  hire  a  man  who 
drank  intoxicating  liquors.  He  said  he  had  con 
sidered  that  and  would  pledge  himself  that  if  we 
would  employ  him  he  would  not  drink  a  drop.  So 
we  hired  him  and  he  proved  a  faithful  hand  and  a 
firm  friend  of  ours  till  I  left  California.  We  paid 
him  seven  dollars  a  day  or  forty-two  dollars  a  week 


1 82  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  $182  a  month,  and  he  and  his  two  boys  so 
laid  up  their  money  that  after  i  left  he  purchased 
the  ranch  of  Dr.  Welber,  sent  money  to  Calais  and 
brought  to  the  ranch  his  wife  and  the  other  children. 
This  was  quite  a  change  from  the  blaspheming 
saloonist  who  came  down  the  mountain  that  day, 
and  the  industrious  and  sober  rancher  as  I  leave 
him  now. 

LIQUOR   SOLD   ON   THE   SLY. 

But  the  liquor  pressure  was  a  little  too  great 
for  my  partner,  and  especially  for  a  side  partner  of 
his,  a  German,  who  worked  more  or  less  on  the 
ranch.  They  at  last  yielded  so  far  as  to  try  the 
experiment  of  selling  it  on  the  sly.  There  was 
quite  a  demand  for  vinegar  among  our  customers 
in  the  mines,  and  Dr.  Welber  bought  some  kegs  of 
whiskey  in  town,  and  wished  me  to  bring  them  to 
the  ranch,  as  he  wished  to  make  some  barrels  of 
vinegar.  Suspecting  nothing,  I  did  so,  and  soon 
observed  less  clamor  for  "  the  stuff"  about  the 
ranch.  One  Saturday  night,  as  we  were  weighing 
out  our  gold,  and  giving  to  each  his  share,  there 
stood  by  itself  a  yeast-can  half  full  of  gold  dust. 
When  we  came  to  that,  and  it  was  weighed,  and 
my  half  pushed  across  the  table  to  me,  I  asked 
whence  this  came,  and  why  kept  by  itself.  The 
German  answered,  "  So  much  we  get  mit  that 
vinegar  whiskey  !"  I  looked  straight  at  them  while 
they  tried  to  justify  it.  I  pushed  it  back  to  their 
side  saying,  "  It  is  the  price  of  blood  !  I  will  have 


MINING.  183 

none  of  it.  Doctor,  I  did  not  expect  that  of  you," 
and  rose  up  hastily  and  went  out,  deeply  grieved 
and  offended.  What  became  of  the  money  I  know 
not.  The  subject  was  never  alluded  to  afterward, 
and  never  again,  while  I  was  there,  was  one  drop 
of  liquor  freighted  to  Oak  Flat  Ranch. 

A  NIGHT  WITH   ROBBERS. 

The  Fourth  of  July  was  near  at  hand,  and  great 
preparations  were  made  at  Downieville  to  make 
the  attractions  as  great  as  possible.  Our  hired 
men  must  all  go,  Cooper  and  his  boys.  Dr.  Wel- 
ber  and  I  were  to  be  left  alone.  But  early  in  the 
morning  Dr.  Welber  was  called  to  Downieville  on 
important  business,  so  I  was  left  alone  through  the 
day  ;  but  the  Doctor  promised  to  return  by  mid- 
afternoon.  We  had  a  large  sum  of  money  depos 
ited  with  us  by  the  miners  who  left  their  horses 
with  us.  One  soon  gets  tired  of  carrying  about 
his  person  a  bag  of  gold  dust  weighing  from  five 
to  twenty  pounds.  It  galls  his  person  and  makes 
him  sore  and  lame.  We  had  a  nice  place  to  de 
posit  it,  where  no  one  would  think  of  looking  for  it, 
and  there  we  hid  our  own  and  that  of  our  friends, 
enjoining  on  each  depositor  to  keep  the  matter  a 
profound  secret ;  but  when  many  thousands  had 
been  received,  we  found  to  our  dismay  that  the 
report  had  gone  all  over  the  country  that  immense 
sums  were  deposited  by  the  miners  at  Oak  Flat 
Ranch.  It  was  freely  talked  about  at  all  the  gam 
bling  saloons.  We  were  warned  of  our  danger  of 


184  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

being  robbed.  Persons  were  killed  nearly  every 
week,  near  us,  for  their  money.  Suspicious  char 
acters  began  to  hang  about  our  house,  watching 
us  by  day  and  night,  to  discover,  if  possible,  where 
we  hid  the  treasure.  We  removed  it  from  the 
house  and  hid  it  in  five-gallon  tin  cans,  which  we 
buried  among  the  squash  vines.  While  there, 
hoeing  and  pulling  up  weeds,  we  could  easily 
make  a  deposit  unobserved.  But  to  the  Fourth 
of  July. 

Reaching  Downieville,  the  Doctor  found  the 
important  business  was  a  proposition  to  buy  out 
Oak  Ranch  and  make  of  it  a  fashionable  watering 
place,  a  pleasure  resort  for  the  city,  the  mines  and 
gamblers.  The  company  making  this  proposition 
was  composed  of  the  most  desperate  gamblers  in 
Downieville.  What  would  we  take  for  it  ?  Would 
we  sell  out  for  $15,000?  Dr.  Welber  demanded 
$20,000.  Long  they  debated  the  matter,  and  at  last, 
late  in  the  afternoon,  compromised  upon  $18,500. 
The  money  must  all  be  paid  down,  and  it  took  till 
sunset  to  raise  it  all.  And  now  the  writings  must  be 
drawn  up,  and  at  this  they  worked  until  nine  or 
ten  o'clock  at  night.  Just  here  the  whole  game 
was  blocked  by  one  of  the  party  rising  up  and  go 
ing  out  with  his  money,  saying  he  would  conclude 
no  bargain  to-night,  he  "  was  too  full  /"  This  broke 
up  the  conference.  Then  for  the  first  time  it  burst 
upon  the  Doctor's  mind  that  this  was  all  a  ruse  !  a 
scheme  to  keep  him  away  from  the  ranch  While 
confederates  and  employes  were  sent  to  kill  his 


MINING.  185 

partner,  and  rob  the  ranch  !  His  agony  knew  no 
bounds.  He  rushed  to  the  stable  for  his  horse,  but 
when  mounted  it  was  so  dark  and  so  difficult  to 
keep  and  to  ascend  the  steep  mountain  trail,  he 
found  it  impossible  to  proceed,  and,  after  hours  of 
effort,  was  obliged  to  turn  back  and  wait  till  morn 
ing.  All  night  he  paced  the  room  in  agony,  but 
started  for  home  with  the  first  ray  of  breaking  day. 
Meanwhile  Oak  Flat  was  the  theater  where  the 
other  part  of  this  drama  was  being  enacted. 

The  Doctor  did  not  come  home  by  mid-after 
noon,  as  he  had  promised.  Four  o'clock  and  he 
is  not  here !  Something  has  happened !  Has  he 
not  been  waylaid  and  murdered  ?  Very  likely, 
and  if  so,  Oak  Ranch  is  to  be  attacked  and  robbed 
to-night,  and  myself  murdered !  The  sun  goes 
down  on  such  meditations,  and  darkness  comes 
on.  I  cannot  call  upon  a  human  being  for  help  ! 
There  is  not  a  soul  within  seven  miles  !  A  cannon 
fired  would  arouse  nobody  !  A  fusilade  kept  up 
all  night  around  my  house,  and  the  buildings  burnt 
to  ashes,  would  be  known  to  no  outsider  until  to 
morrow  !  Well,  I  will  trust  in  God  and  do  my 
best  to  defend  myself  and  my  neighbors'  property. 
Nailing  fast  a  double  pair  of  Oregon  blankets  over 
the  windows,  and  lighting  a  pine  knot  in  the  fire 
place,  1  proceeded  to  overlook  my  means  of  de 
fence,  to  put  on  fresh  caps  and  place  them  in  easy 
reach  if  needed.  And  this  was  the  small  armory 
I  put  in  readiness :  A  Colt's  navy  revolver, 
an  Allen's  six-shooter,  a  double-barrel  shot  gun,  a 


1 86  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

double-barrel  pistol,  a  rifle,  a  musket,  and  a  Mexi 
can  sword !  Nearly  all  these  weapons  had  been 
left  for  my  use  by  the  miners  depositing  their  gold. 
These,  all  stacked  in  a  dark  corner,  where  the 
head  of  my  bunk  was,  could  be  quickly  seized  and 
used.  A  loose  board  near  my  pillow,  which  I 
could  remove  at  will,  enabled  me  to  look  out  and 
see  what  was  passing. 

Nothing  special  occurred  till  near  twelve 
o'clock,  and  I  had  laid  down  in  my  bunk.  But  I 
heard  the  footsteps  of  several  men  approaching 
through  the  dry  leaves.  They  stopped  near  the 
corner  of  the  house  and  held  a  parley  in  whispers. 
Then  one  of  them  came  forward  and  tried  the  door. 
He  did  not  knock  but  tried  to  force  it  open,  but 
finding  he  could  not,  went  round  the  house  and 
tried  the  window,  and  then  went  and  reported. 
Then  all  came  to  the  door  and  knocked  loudly. 
Instantly  I  was  on  my  feet,  unlocked  the  door,  lifted 
the  great  latch  and  removed  the  huge  crossbar, 
and  swung  open  the  door,  and  there  I  stood  squarely 
before  them,  as  good  a  mark  as  they  could  have 
wished!  A  navy  hung  swinging  on  one  side  and 
Allen's  six  shooter  on  the  other!  Before  me  stood 
three  full  whiskered  men  with  hats  pulled  down 
over  their  eyes,  all  armed  with  revolvers,  and  each 
holding  in  his  hands  a  short  rifle!  The  boldness 
of  my  action  in  opening  the  door  so  promptly  and 
standing  so  squarely  before  them,  completely  dis 
concerted  them.  "Good  evening,"  said  I,  "come 
in  ;  you  are  late  this  evening!"  Mechanically  they 


MINING.  IS/ 

obeyed,  and  when  inside  I  shut  the  door,  latched 
it  and  put  the  great  bar  across.  This  bewildered 
them  still  more,  and  they  peered  back  among  the 
bunks  to  see  if  I  had  not  helpers  lying  there.  I 
had  not  a  moment  to  lose,  so  stepping  back  into 
the  dark  corner  among  my  fire  arms,  cocking  my 
Colt's  navy,  I  ordered  them  to  lie  down!  to  lie  apart! 
The  voice  with  which  I  spoke  had  a  vim  and  terror 
about  it  which  frightened  them,  and  startled  me 
too!  Quickly  they  were  on  the  floor.  All  fear  was 
gone.  I  felt  girt  with  supernatural  strength,  and 
I  could  scarce  keep  from  dispatching  them  at  once, 
for  I  believed  they  had  murdered  my  partner. 
Not  to  prolong  the  account  by  details,  thus  I  held 
them  at  bay  for  four  mortal  hours,  not  allowing  them 
to  touch  one  another ',  or  to  turn  over  or  move!  About 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  horseman  rode  up 
and  cried  "Hallo!"  I  opened  the  door  and  it  was 
daylight.  The  horseman  inquired  the  way  to 
Canyon  Creek,  and  as  I  went  out  to  show  him  the 
trail,  the  three  men  filed  out  past  me,  and  in  single 
file  went  straight  into  a  thicket  and  down  toward 
Goodyear's  Creek,  paying  no  regard  to  trails  or 
anything  else,  save  to  get  out  of  sight!  I  stood  and 
looked  after  them  till  they  were  out  of  sight,  and 
then  there  went  back  into  the  cabin  a  man  offering 
in  his  heart  and  from  his  lips,  thanksgiving  to  God 
for  the  strange  and  wonderful  protection!  The 
supernatural  strength  and  absolute  fearlessness  of 
those  hours  made  me  think  of  David's  words  when 
he  said,  "The  Lord  taught  his  hands  to  war  and  his 


1 88  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

fingers  to  fight,  so  that  a  bow  of  steel  was  broken 
in  his  hands."  But  now  the  day  was  coming  on, 
and  to  work  off  the  excitement  I  went  to  chopping 
on  a  log.  About  sunrise  I  heard  a  shout  on  the 
mountain  top!  It  was  the  voice  of  my  partner,  Dr. 
Welber.  He  was  frantic  with  joy  at  seeing  me 
safe  and  coolly  chopping  wood  and  the  ranch  house 
still  standing.  All  the  way  home  he  had  urged 
his  horse  to  the  top  of  his  speed.  His  fevered  fancy 
had  pictured  the  attack  of  the  night,  the  fierce  and 
well  fought  battle,  his  partner  at  length  overcome 
by  numbers,  the  ranch  robbed  and  burned  down, 
and  the  white  bones  of  his  comrade  crumbling  in 
the  ashes!  With  what  trepidation  he  approached 
a  point  on  the  trail  whence  he  could  look  down  upon 
the  house  and  corral!  "My  heart,"  said  he,  "was  in 
my  throat  as  I  drew  near  the  spot!  I  don't  believe 
I  breathed  for  minutes!"  Well,  he  came  down 
shouting,  embraced  me,  and  cried.  He  told  over 
the  story  of  his  detention  as  I  have  narrated  it. 
We  sat  down  on  the  log  and  then  I  told  him  mine, 
and  again  he  embraced  me  arid  cried  like  a  child. 
Some  days  afterward  he  said  he  would  give  a  hun 
dred  dollars  to  know  the  conversation  of  those 
robbers,  when  they  got  to  where  they  could  talk 
over  the  experience  of  that  night,  when  they  were 
cowed  down  and  held  in  mortal  fear  by  one  man! 
I  suspect  they  mutually  accused  each  other  of  cow 
ardice  and  that  each  threw  the  blame  of  failure  on 
the  other!  A  man  once  asked  me  what  I  would 
have  done  had  I  been  one  of  the  three?  I  replied 


MINING.  189 

I  would  have  done  just  as  they  did,  for  I  had  no 
doubt  I  should  have  been  killed  if  I  had  not,  and 
that  was  just  what  they  were  not  prepared  for.  I 
will  add  here,  that  never  after  was  one  word  said 
to  the  doctor  about  buying  the  ranch.  The  gam 
blers  maintained  a  singular  silence  about  it. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

GOING  HOME   TO  THE  STATES. 

And  now  the  summer  gone  and  the  autumn 
nearly  over,  I  began  to  turn  my  eyes  homeward. 
I  had  got  over  my  sick  headache,  slept  well,  had 
laid  up  some  $3,000,  and  was  as  I  wrote  to  my 
friends,  hearty  as  a  buck,  tough  as  a  bear  and  as 
strong  as  a  lion.  Before  I  started  on  this  tour,  I 
had  promised  the  Lord  that  I  would  return  to 
my  work  of  preaching  so  soon  as  my  general 
health  was  restored,  and  my  nerves  had  recovered 
their  balance  again.  But  here  was  the  temptation. 
We  were  making  money  rapidly,  not  less  than 
from  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  per  day.  "  Stay,  " 
said  my  partner,  "  but  a  single  year,  and  you  will 
make  all  the  money  you  will  ever  need.  "  But  I 
dared  not  trifle  with  a  promise  I  had  made  to  the 
Lord  in  time  of  trouble.  So  to  the  surprise  of  all 
I  announced  my  determination  to  start  for  home 
as  soon  as  I  could  arrange  my  affairs.  It  took  a 
couple  of  weeks  to  take  account  of  stock,  sell  off 
my  share,  and  balance  accounts.  In  spite  of  our 
efforts  to  conceal  the  purpose,  it  got  out  and  spread 
abroad.  It  was  reported  that  we  had  made  a  mule 
load  of  money,  and  a  dozen  suspicious  characters 
hung  around  our  ranch.  They  had  no  business 

(190) 


GOING  HOME  TO  THE  STATES.  19! 

there,  but  they  would  not  leave,  and  one  of  them 
was  kept  in  our  house  from  morning  till  night. 

It  was  plain  what  they  were  after,  to  see  our 
gold  and  how  much  I  carried  away,  and  to  rob  me 
before  I  got  home,  probably  before  I  was  out  of 
Cailfornia.  I  told  the  Doctor  the  boldest  course  was 
ever  my  best  hand.  So  one  evening  we  brought  out 
the  hidden  bags  of  gold,  weighed  out  some  fourteen 
pounds  of  gold,  as  my  share.  This  we  deposited 
in  spaces  about  large  enough  to  put  one's  finger, 
which  ran  up  and  down  the  front  of  a  double  lined 
buckskin  vest.  These  spaces  were  made  by  seams 
about  an  inch  apart  up  and  down  the  front  of  the 
vest,  so  that  when  I  put  it  on,  the  whole  chest 
was  covered  and  shielded  by  a  layer  of  half  an 
inch  of  gold!  This  was  the  heaviest  vest  I  ever 
wore,  and  I  did  not  take  it  off  till  I  reached  San 
Francisco.  And  no  garment  ever  tired  me  like 
that!  In  fact,  I  wore  it  until  I  came  near  New 
York.  It  was  a  grievous  burden!  But  it  was  a 
partial  shield  to  the  more  vital  parts. 

In  concluding  my  settlement  with  Dr.  Welber 
a  scene  occurred  not  usual  in  such  transactions, 
which  will  well  illustrate  our  general  dealings  with 
each  other.  Two  hundred  dollars  remained  on 
the  table  between  us,  which,  according  to  Doctor 
Welber's  figures,  belonged  to  me;  according  to  mine 
belonged  to  him.  This  arose  from  our  different 
estimates  of  the  cash  value  of  certain  notes  I  had 
consigned  to  him,  and  which  were  by  neither  of  us 
considered  quite  as  good  as  their  face  indicated. 


IQ2  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

The  Doctor  pushed  the  $200  over  to  me  and  said, 
"  The  notes  are  worth  all  1  estimated  them  at,  and 
that  belongs  to  you.  "  I  reviewed  his  estimates 
and  compared  them  with  mine,  and  said,  "Mine 
are  the  most  reasonable,  "  and  pushed  the  money 
over  to  him.  He  held  his  hand  on  the  money  a 
moment,  argued  his  side  and  pushed  it  back  to 
me.  I  replied  at  length  and  pushed  it  back,  and  so 
the  money,  $200,  went  back  and  forth,  perhaps 
half  a  dozen  times. 

We  were  all  absorbed  in  the  matter,  when  one 
of  the  twenty  lookers  on  burst  forth  with  the  ex 
clamation,  "  That  is  a  scene  I  never  saw  before  and 
never  expected  to  see  in  this  world — two  men,  argu 
ing  each  against  himself  and  in  favor  of  his  neigh 
bor!  "  We  looked  up  and  several  of  those  rough 
men  were  in  tears,  and  one  had  gone  out  crying, 
to  give  vent  to  his  feelings!  I  presume  it  stood 
out  in  strong  contrast  with  the  treatment  he  had 
received  in  some  financial  settlement,  perhaps  with 
kindred  and  supposed  friends.  I  don't  know  but  this 
was  a  good  thing  for  me.  For  the  next  morning 
when  I  left,  most  of  those  suspicious  characters 
pressed  my  hand  very  warmly  and  seemed  really 
sorry  to  have  me  go !  The  matter  of  the  $200  in 
dispute,  was  finally  settled,  by  my  passing  the 
money  over  to  Welber  and  saying,  "  If  your  esti 
mate  proves  right,  you  may  send  me  the  money. 
If  mine,  then  you  retain  it." 

I  had  agreed  with  one  Langston,  who  ran  an 
express  to  Sacramento,  to  go  down  with  him,  and 


GOING    HOME   TO   THE   STATES.  193 

to  meet  him  at  Goodyear's  Bar,  and  travel  with  him 
for  mutual  protection.  The  next  morning  I  start 
ed.  But  Cooper  would  go  with  me  until  I  met 
the  express  train.  We  were*  well  armed,  and  had 
eight  miles  to  travel,  mostly  through  the  woods. 
When  a  mile  or  two  from  the  cabin  I  saw  a  man  in 
a  thicket  looking  up  the  trail;  he  disappeared, 
and  we  knew  that  danger  was  ahead.  Cooper 
and  I  separated  some  ten  rods  apart,  and  rode  rap 
idly  through  the  thicket.  Three  or  four  armed 
men  were  there.  We  had  evidently  come  upon 
them  before  they  expected  us  and  being  separated 
they  dared  not  fire  upon  one  when  the  other  was 
out  of  reach,  and  could  either  return  the  fire  or 
ride  off  for  help.  So  we  reached  Goodyear's  Bar 
safely.  I  wore  my  usual  rough  miner's  clothes  to 
disguise  my  intent.  But  as  we  rode  past  the 
gambling  saloons,  I  found  how  vain  all  my  precau 
tions  had  been,  for  the  gamblers  rushed  out  and 
said,  "  Hello  !  parson  !  made  your  pile  and  going 
home !  Made  lots  of  money,  I  hear !  "  So  I  had 
to  say,  "  Yes!  made  a  little,  hope  I  shall  get  home 
with  it!  Good-bye,  boys,  take  care  of  yourselves. 
Adios  !  "  and  rode  on. 

The  ride  to  Foster's  Bar  just  at  that  time  was 
very  dangerous.  Several  miners  had  been  robbed 
and  killed  on  the  route  within  a  few  days.  And  we 
of  the  express  company,  separated  a  few  rods  apart 
as  we  went  through  the  more  dangerous  places. 
Thousands  of  men,  rich  in  the  spring,  were  now  in 
the  fall  dead  broke  and  desperate,  on  account  of 

13 


194  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

failures  of  river-bed  claims  whose  workings  had 
been  immensely  expensive,  and  which  had  proved 
worthless. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  AND   OAKLAND   IN    1851. 

Arriving  at  San  Francisco  I  called  at  once  up 
on  my  friend,  Mr.  Penfield,  formerly  a  deacon  of  my 
church  in  New  York  City,  and  now  a  merchant 
in  San  Francisco,  and  took  rooms  with  him.  Saun 
tering  one  day  about  the  city  we  chanced  to  bring 
up  on  Telegraph  Hill,  and  lay  down  upon  the 
grass.  The  conversation  beginning  to  flag,  pointing 
toward  the  scattered  clusters  of  oaks  over  in  Oak 
land  and  the  herds  of  cattle  roaming  among  them, 
I  said,  "  Penfield,  that  is  Brooklyn.  This  is  New 
York!  Come  here  a  few  years  hence  and  you 
shall  see  a  ferry  boat  loaded  with  people  going 
from  that  point  on  this  side,  to  that  one  over  yon 
der  on  the  other  side.  Another  will  ply  across 
from  yon  point,  to  another  one  there.  And  a 
third  will  cross  and  recross,  once  in  an  hour,  be 
tween  them.  The  men  of  wealth  and  refinement 
will  do  business  here,  but  will  build  their  palaces 
there,  and  there  they  will  spend  their  money.  City 
lots  in  Oakland  will  sell  at  fabulous  prices,  and  if 
you  and  I  were  to  get  a  boat  to  row  us  over  there 
to-morrow,  and  buy  out  some  of  the  ranchmen 
who  own  those  cattle,  in  a  few  years  we  would  be 
millionaires ! "  He  smiled  at  my  reverie  and 
lazily  said,  "Very  likely  !"  And  then  we  went  down 
to  his  store.  I  took  my  $3,000  from  his  safe, 


GOING   HOME   TO   THE   STATES.  IQ5 

bought  my  ticket  for  New  York,  and  the  next  day 
left  for  Panama  !  To-day,  and  long  since  that  day 
dream  has  been  a  reality,  and  to  human  view, 
our  neglect  to  make  the  purchase  suggested,  looks 
like  an  egregious  blunder  !  But  it  may  not  have 
been  such  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  sees  the  ulti 
mate  and  complete  results  of  such  an  investment, 
its  influence  upon  ourselves  and  our  families,  and 
upon  others  in  this  life  and  the  life  to  come.  It 
takes  the  balance  sheets  of  eternity  to  tell  what  is 
true  prosperity  and  what  is  not. 

The  steamer  on  which  I  had  taken  passage, 
was  the  Tennessee,  and  was  commanded  by  one 
Capt.  Totten,  a  United  States  officer.  He  was  a  fine 
officer,  but  in  poor  health.  There  were  1,200  pas 
sengers  on  board  and  we  were  terribly  crowded. 

Just  outside  the  Golden  Gate  we  took  some 
cattle  aboard  to  kill  on  the  passage  for  fresh  beef. 
I  was  amused  at  the  mode  of  handling  them.  A 
herd  of  the  semi-wild  creatures  was  driven  down 
to  the  shore  and  held  at  bay  there  by  the  Spanish 
horsemen.  Some  of  them  were  crowded  into  the 
surf.  A  lasso  from  a  man  in  a  boat  was  thrown 
over  the  horns  of  one  of  them,  he  was  hauled  off 
into  deep  water,  and  the  rowers  towed  him  a  mile 
or  two  to  the  side  of  the  ship.  An  end  of  the  lasso 
was  thrown  on  board,  and  the  steam-engine  in  a 
trice  lifted  him  from  the  water  and  raising  him 
thirty  or  forty  feet  by  his  horns,  swung  him  into 
his  stall  on  deck  where  he  was  to  stay  till  the  ship's 
butcher  had  need  of  him. 


196  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

It  was  a  singular  sight,  a  huge  bullock  of  1,000 
to  1,500  pounds  thus  swinging  between  heaven 
and  earth,  dangling  bv  his  horns  and  kicking  and 
pawing  in  the  air ! 

Thus  getting  our  supply  of  beef,  we  proceeded 
on  our  way.  The  next  day  Capt.  Totten  called 
the  passengers  together  and  said,  "  I  cannot  do 
justice  to  this  crowd  of  passengers  without  help. 
I  propose  to  divide  you  into  groups  of  one  hundred 
each.  There  will  be  twelve  such  groups.  Let 
each  choose  its  Captain.  Let  that  Captain  have 
charge  of  his  mess.  Let  him  preside  at  their 
tables  and  note  all  their  wants  and  communicate 
them  to  me,  and  through  him  I  can  see  that  justice 
is  done  to  all  his  mess." 

I  was  chosen  Captain  of  the  second  mess  of  a 
hundred  which  was  formed,  and  got  along  finely. 
We  had  some  sick  in  my  company,  but  none  of 
them  died  on  our  way  to  Panama.  One  of  them 
lay  at  death's  door  near  a  week  and  the  way  of  his 
recovery  was  quite  remarkable.  I  was  watching 
with  him  one  hot  and  sultry  night,  not  expecting 
him  to  live  till  morning,  when  a  cyclone  accom 
panied  with  a  water-spout,  struck  our  ship.  Tons  of 
water  fell  upon  the  deck  almost  in  solid  mass, 
sweeping  overboard  hats  and  blankets,  and  every 
other  light  thing  on  deck.  The  ship  careened 
and  lurched  as  if  she  would  capsize.  My  sick  man, 
startled  at  the  unexpected  visitation,  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  with  a  wild  shriek  leaped  upon  the  rail 
and  in  an  instant  would  have  been  overboard, 


GOING  HOME  TO   THE  STATES.  197 

had  I  not  seized  his  clothes  and  with  a  jerk  brought 
him  back  upon  the  deck.  We  both  fell,  I  upon 
him  with  a  force  which  might  nearly  have  killed 
a  well  man  !  From  that  moment  he  began  to  re 
cover,  and  was  well,  and  on  his  way  to  meet  his 
family  in  Iowa,  when  I  parted  with  him.  His 
gratitude  was  unbounded,  and  I  had  to  promise 
him  I  would  visit  him  and  his  family.  A  promise 
— alas !  I  shall  never  fulfil  in  this  world,  as  I  have 
forgotten  his  name  and  place  of  residence.  I  re 
turned  him  the  gold  and  letters  he  had  given  me 
to  bear  to  his  wife  in  case  of  his  death,  and  bade 
him  a  long  farewell.  That  cyclone,  that  bath  of 
water  and  that  fearful  fall  were  the  things  which 
broke  the  fever,  startled  into  action  the  vital  forces 
and  saved  him,  so  I  believe. 

A  SAILOR'S  VIOLENCE  SUPPRESSED. 

Perhaps  I  may  go  back  a  little  and  relate  what 
else  happened  over  this  sick  man  a  few  days  be 
fore.  It  was  a  hot  noon  day,  when  I  was  fanning 
this  man  and  wetting  his  forehead,  that  several 
sailors  were  passing  through  the  crowd  on  deck, 
and  crying,  "Clear  the  way  !"  Of  course  I  could 
not  instantly  move  the  sick  man,  but  was  trying 
to  do  so,  when  a  tall,  athletic  sailor  coming  along, 
cursed  him  and  kicked  him  in  his  side.  I  seized 
the  sailor's  heel  and  he  fell  upon  his  back !  He 
was  the  largest  sailor  on  the  ship,  and  their  ac 
knowledged  bully.  Indeed,  he  was  a  petty  tyrant 
over  the  sailors,  none  of  them  daring  to  offend 
him. 


198  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

The  officers  too,  found  hard  work  in  managing 
him.  Mortified  by  his  fall,  he  sprang  up  and  at 
tacked  me ;  I  was  up  as  quick  as  he  ;  we  grappled 
and  he  was  floored.  Seizing  the  middle  fingers  of 
both  hands  and  turning  them  nearly  out  of  joint, 
I  held  them  in  that  condition,  till  he  dared  not 
stir,  for  fear  of  what  else  I  might  do  with  them. 
The  sailors  rushed  to  his  help,  but  were  pulled  off 
by  the  passengers.  An  officer  came  and  ordered 
me  to  let  him  up  ;  I  did  so  saying,  Now  you  must 
take  care  of  him.  No  sooner  was  he  up  than  he 
flew  at  me  again.  Once  more  he  fell  upon  the 
deck,  and  I  was  on  the  upper  side,  and  again  I 
pinioned  him  so  that  he  could  not  possibly  hurt  me. 
Again  the  officer  bade  me  let  him  up,  but  I  refused, 
and  sent  for  the  Captain.  To  him  I  gave  my  rea 
son  for  not  obeying  the  under  officer.  I  now  let 
him  up  again,  and  he  went  off  with  the  Captain. 

The  sailors  were  now  all  down  upon  "  that 
bloody  landsman''  Meeting  this  same  sailor  a  day 
after  he  said,  "Your  little  pile  will  be  of  no  use  to 
you  !  When  we  land  at  Panama  I  will  see  that  you 
don't  cross  that  Isthmus  !  "  I  smiled  and  said,  "Let 
me  see  your  face  on  the  Isthmus  if  you  dare !  If  I 
get  hold  of  you  there,  there  will  be  no  Capt.  Tot- 
ten  to  help  you  up  when  I  have  got  you  down!" 
Well,  I  suppose  he  meant  to  scare  me,  at  least  that 
was  all  I  meant.  I  thought  it  best  to  let  him  know 
that  I  was  not  afraid  of  him,  there  or  elsewhere. 

AN  ATTACK  OF  ROBBERS  ON  THE   ISTHMUS. 

When  we  arrived  at  Panama,  we  heard  that 


GOING  HOME  TO  THE  STATES.  199 

two  steamers,  one  an  opposition  boat,  were  waiting 
to  receive  passengers  on  the  Atlantic  side.  A 
meeting  was  held  on  board  before  we  landed.  A 
committee  of  three  was  chosen  to  hurry  across, 
and  secure  passage  for  New  York,  on  the  best 
terms.  I  was  one  of  them.  Landing,  we  found 
some  two  thousand  mules  and  horses  and  their 
owners  waiting  to  carry  us  and  our  baggage. 

Wells  &  Fargo's  express  alone,  required  one  hun 
dred  animals,  to  carry  across  their  packages  of  gold, 
containing  $2,000,000,  and  each  horse-load  being 
$20,000,  or  100  pounds  in  gold.  The  next  day 
we  started  off,  on  our  way  to  Cruces,  the  head  of 
boat-transportation  on  the  Chagres  River. 

My  two  companions  began  to  run  horses.  Not 
wishing  to  be  left  behind  I  too,  put  spurs  to  my 
horse.  The  trail  was  woody  nearly  all  the  way, 
and  we  ran  through  a  defile,  at  full  speed,  one 
horse  a  dozen  rods  ahead  of  mine,  and  the  other 
as  far  behind. 

A  band  of  twenty  robbeYs  lay  there  con 
cealed,  ready  to  rob  the  train.  We  passed  through 
unharmed,  but  they  opened  fire  upon  those  who 
followed  us,  and  robbed  and  wounded  quite  a 
number.  It  was  a  sad  sight  that  night  when  the} 
were  brought  into  Cruces,  bloody — gashed — pen 
niless,  and  among  strangers  !  Some  of  the  mules 
laden  with  gold  were  captured,  taken  off  into  the 
forest,  and  their  loads  taken  off.  But  the  miners 
returned  their  fire  and  soon  routed,  pursued  and 
captured  several  of  them  and  recovered  most  of 


200  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

the   booty.     The   fifty    pound   packages  of  gold 
could  not  be  carried  off  very  fast  by  a  footman. 

At  Cruces  I  took  passage  down  the  river,  and 
soon  found  I  had  fallen  into  about  the  most  low 
lived  gang  of  dissolute  fellows  I  ever  fell  in  with. 
Finding  they  had  a  minister  aboard  they  did  their 
"  level  best"  to  annoy  and  disgust  me.  And  we 
had  a  hot  time  of  it.  I  believe  I  never  before  or 
since  heard  as  much  profanity  or  obscenity  uttered 
in  the  same  length  of  time.  I  stood  my  ground, 
and  attacked  them  "  hip  and  thigh,"  right  hand 
and  left,  sometimes  answering  a  fool  according 
to  his  folly,  and  sometimes  not  deigning  to  answer. 

On  the  way  down,  a  tropical  thunderstorm 
aided  me  greatly.  It  came  upon  us  very  sud 
denly,  the  wind  nearly  capsizing  our  boat,  the  rain 
falling  in  torrents  and  blinding  the  helmsman  while 
the  thunder  and  lightning  were  terrible.  In  five 
minutes  we  were  all  drenched  through  to  the  skin, 
and  a  sorry  looking  set  we  were.  The  most  of 
them  were  terribly  scared.  When  the  rain-cloud 
passed,  my  hour  of  triumph  had  come  ;  they  were 
too  wet  and  cold  to  joke  and  too  badly  scared  to 
swear,  and  I  talked  to  them  very  seriously.  Be 
fore  we  reached  Chagres,  they  had  become  very 
quiet  and  decent.  Most  of  them  openly  admitted 
their  conduct  had  been  most  reprehensible,  that 
I  was  right,  and  they  meant  to  turn  over  a  new 
leaf  when  they  reached  the  States.  One  of  them 
took  me  aside  and  said,  When  we  reach  Chagres, 
let  us  room  together  in  the  hotel.  I  said,  No,  you 


GOING  HOME  TO  THE  STATES.  2OI 

had  better  room  with  your  friend — a  downright 
atheist,  who  with  him  had  been  the  leaders  of  the 
crowd.  No,  he  said,  he  could  not  trust  him,  or  a 
man  of  his  sentiments,  for  said  he,  "I  have  $5,000 
in  gold  about  me,  and  I  dare  not  room  with 
him."  Well,  I  finally  consented,  and  the  week 
I  spent  in  Chagres,  before  starting  for  New  York, 
he  was  often  gone  half  a  day  leaving  his  gold  with 
me !  Atheists  and  deists  will  always  trust  Chris 
tians  as  they  will  not  each  other. 

Apropos,  I  may  add  here  that  I  once  overheard 
a  tavern  keeper,  in  the  place  where  1  had  lived 
some  years,  running  down  the  character  of  the 
Christians  of  the  place.  He  said  to  his  guests 
there  was  not  one  of  these  Christians  he  would 
trust  with  five  dollars,  without  security.  Just  then 
I  walked  in  and  asked  him  to  repeat  it.  He  did 
so,  and  then  I  turned  to  the  strangers  and  said, 
"Over  a  year  ago  this  man  came  to  me  and  said, 
'I  have  $1,000  paid  me  in  gold  to-day.  I  dare  not 
keep  it  at  the  tavern ;  wont  you  keep  it  for  me  till 
I  call  for  it?'  Well,  reluctantly  I  consented,  saying 
I  would  not  be  responsible  for  it,  as  I  should  take 
no  pay  for  running  the  risk.  Well,  gentlemen,  I 
kept  it  without  giving  him  the  slightest  security 
and  when  he  wanted  it  he  came  and  found  it  all 
there  and  got  it,  too!"  His  guests  laughed  and  he 
left  for  the  other  room. 

To  return  to  Chagres.  On  arriving  we  found 
the  opposition  steamer  had  taken  fire  and  burned 
down,  no  doubt  the  work  of  an  incendiary  suborned 


202  THE   PIONEER    PREACHER. 

by  agents  of  the  other  boat.  The  price  we  had  to 
pay  for  passage  to  New  York  amply  illustrated 
the  saying  that  "corporations  have  no  souls!" 
On  our  way  home  our  ship  called  at  Kingston, 
Jamaica.  Just  off  the  harbor  a  pilot  came  aboard 
and  as  usual  took  charge  of  the  helm  and  the  ship, 
giving  out  his  orders  as  captain.  He  was  a  mulatto, 
but  very  polite  and  civil.  Some  Southern  bloods 
on  board  were  greatly  incensed  at  hearing  a  "nigger" 
as  they  called  the  mulatto,  give  out  commands  to 
white  sailors,  and  they  were  very  free  with  curses 
and  words  of  scorn  they  heaped  upon  him.  Our 
captain  was  a  coward  and  did  not  summarily  sup 
press  it  as  he  should  have  done.  The  pilot  said 
nothing,  but  attended  strictly  to  his  business,  bring 
ing  the  ship  into  port.  When  he  had  laid  her  up  be 
side  the  wharf  and  taken  his  fee,  he  turned  to  these 
bloods  and  said,  "If  you  think  either  of  you  is  a  better 
man  than  I  am,  step  down  upon  the  wharf  and 
we  will  settle  the  matter."  This  was  too  much  for 
them,  and  they  rushed  upon  him,  half  a  dozen  of 
them,  struck  him  and  kicked  him  down  the  gang 
way.  In  about  five  minutes,half  a  dozen  policemen, 
all  black  as  the  ace  of  spades,  came  marching  up 
the  planks  with  the  pilot,  and  seizing  one  and 
another  of  this  Southern  gentry,  bore  them  and 
their  defenders  off  to  the  calaboose.  And  there 
they  had  to  lie  and  sweat  and  fight  fleas  for  nearly 
a  week,  for  it  took  that  time  for  tardy  English  jus 
tice  to  get  around  to  their  case,  which  finally  they 
did,  fined  them  severely  and  let  them  and  our  ship 


GOING  HOME  TO  THE  STATES.  203 

go  on  our  way.  I  wanted  to  get  home,  but  I  was 
quite  content  to  stay  for  the  sake  of  having  these 
haughty  oppressors  for  once  punished  for  their 
insolence  and  pride.  It  was  amusing  to  go  daily 
and  look  through  the  grates,  and  see  these  young 
despots  of  the  Southern  plantation  sitting  demurely 
in  the  dingy  calaboose,  and  doing  the  bidding  of 
stalwart  negroes  wearing  Her  Majesty's  uniform, 
and  clothed  with  her  authority! 

On  our  way  from  Jamaica  to  New  York  we 
encountered  a  fearful  storm.  Nearly  all  of  us  were 
seasick.  In  the  course  of  a  stormy  night,  when 
the  air  was  too  foul  to  stay  below,  and  on  deck  we 
were  drenched  with  the  rain,  my  buckskin  vest 
and  a  belt  of  gold  dust  besides,  became  too  oppres 
sive  to  bear,  so  I  took  them  off  and  rolling  them 
up  together  I  staggered  down  the  stairs  to  the 
purser's  office  and  left  them  in  his  keeping.  In 
going  there  I  had  more  than  once  stumbled  over 
some  person  lying  on  the  floor.  When  I  got  back 
it  occurred  to  me  that  I  had  handed  to  the  purser 
but  one  of  my  gold  packages,  and  that  probably  the 
other  had  slipped  from  my  hand  in  one  of  my  falls 
or  lurches,  as  I  went  down.  But  I  was  so  sick  and 
exhausted  that  I  would  not  go  and  look  for  it,  though 
it  contained  $800.  But  feeling  better  toward 
morning,  as  soon  as  it  was  light,  I  took  a  look  where 
I  had  fallen,  and  there  I  found  indeed  a  purse  of 
gold,  but  it  contained  about  $400  only,  and  it  was 
not  mine.  I  called  aloud,  "Who  has  lost  a  purse 
of  gold?"  The  sleepers  woke  up  and  began  feeling 


204  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

about  themselves  and  one  of  them  said  he  had  lost 
one  and  described  the  one  I  had  found,  so  I  gave  it  to 
him  but  did  not  find  mine.  When  we  reached  New 
York  I  called  on  the  purser,  paid  him  ten  dollars 
and  received  my  buckskin  vest  and  found  the  $800 
purse  wrapped  up  in  it! 

From  the  time  I  left  New  York,  one  year  and 
a  half  before,  an  impression  had  been  upon  me  that 
I  should  not  live  to  return  and  it  held  fast  to  me 
like  a  vampire  till  1  stepped  upon  the  dock,  and 
then  its  hold  was  broken,  and  it  vanished  forever. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PIONEER  LABORS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Hastening  to  my  family  in  Massachusetts,  I 
staid  with  them  a  couple  of  weeks  and  then  started 
off  on  a  tour  through  the  States  of  Ohio,  Michigan 
and  Wisconsin,  in  search  of  a  location.  The  place 
I  wanted  was  one  on  the  frontier,  where  a  home 
missionary  was  needed  and  where  I  could  invest 
the  $2,500  brought  from  California  in  a  homestead 
for  myself  and  family ;  where  I  could  work  the 
blood  off  my  brain  after  preaching,  and  keep  my 
nerves  in  tone,  and  where  also  I  could  do  some 
thing  toward  self-support.  It  seemed  to  me  I 
was  specially  fitted  for  such  a  field  by  my  sympa 
thy  with  toiling  and  struggling  humanity,  the  prac 
tical  in  distinction  from  the  theoretical  cast  of  my 
sermons,  and  by  the  necessity  of  much  physical 
exercise,  which  in  a  minister  will  be  tolerated  on 
the  frontier,  and  scarcely  nowhere  else  but  there. 

Landing  at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  I  stopped  at  the 
American  House.  Wishing  to  be  by  myself,  to 
think  over  plans  of  further  travel,  I  went  into  a 
small  room  whose  walls  were  lined  with  cloaks 
and  overcoats.  I  seated  myself  in  a  corner,  and 
tipping  the  chair  back  against  the  walls,  I  drew 
the  coats  and  cloaks  over  me.  This  nearly  con- 

(205) 


206  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

cealed  my  person.  After  a  time  a  man  came  to 
the  door,  looked  in,  and  turning  around,  said : 
"  The  coast  is  clear  !  No  one  here !"  Three  men 
came  hastily  in,  and,  locking  the  door,  sat  down 
around  a  table  and  began  a  lively  talk  over  the  late 
political  contest  in  that  State.  After  no  small 
amount  of  cursing  and  swearing  at  random — vol 
leys  shot  off  in  the  air — they  began  asking  each 
other  how  much  they  had  made  by  selling  their 
votes  and  influence  to  the  different  parties,  Whigs, 
Democrats  and  Germans.  One  swore  he  had 
made  five  hundred  dollars  !  another  a  thousand  or 
so,  while  one,  whom  they  called  "  Sat,"  swore  that 
he  got  big  money  from  both  parties,  but  voted  the 
Democratic  ticket !  Much  they  laughed  over  this 
feat,  and  slapped  Sat  freely  on  the  shoulders,  and 
called  him  "  a  devilish  good  fellow  !"  I  had  heard 
it  all,  and  at  this  juncture  the  cloak  was  seen  to 
move  aside,  and  down  came  the  chair  upon  all 
fours,  with  a  thump,  and  a  man  in  it ! 

With  a  smile  on  my  face  I  walked  up  to  their 
table  and  said  to  the  astonished  men,  "  I  have  been 
quite  interested  in  your  conversation.  From  your 
own  account  you  must  be  a  scaly  set  of  fellows, 
selling  your  votes  and  perjuring  yourselves,  and 
what  not  in  that  line ;  but  which  of  you  is  that 
man  l  Sat,'  who  deceived  alike  friends  and  foes?" 
One  of  them  colored  a  little  and  said,  "  We  have 
not  been  accustomed  to  be  talked  to  in  that  style." 
"  That  is  because  we  have  not  been  accustomed  to 
meet,"  I  said.  "  Where  are  you  from?"  he  asked. 


PIONEER  LABORS    IN   WISCONSIN.  2O/ 

"  Fresh  from  California,"  I  replied,  and  at  that 
they  all  quieted  down,  for  in  those  days  a  Califor- 
nian  was  deemed  little  less  than  a  grizzly  bear 
walking  on  two  legs!  I  afterward  lived  within 
half  a  dozen  miles  of  this  same  "Sat,"  or  Satterly 
Clark,  and  often  met  him,  and  found  my^rst  im 
pressions  quite  correct  in  his  case. 

SETTLEMENT   IN    DARTFORD,   WIS. 

Taking  the  stage,  I  fell  in  with  the  State  Super 
intendent  of  Schools,  a  Professor  Root.  He  invit 
ed  me  to  visit  his  home  at  Dartford,  Green  Lake 
county,  Wis.,  and  spend  the  Sabbath,  and  I  did  so. 
A  new  Methodist  church  had  just  been  built,  i 
attended  church  in  the  morning  and  was  invited 
to  preach  in  the  afternoon.  As  soon  as  I  had  en 
tered  the  pulpit  a  home  feeling  came  over  me.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  everybody  there  knew  me  and 
had  confidence  in  me,  and  that  I  knew  and  loved 
them  all.  When  I  rose  to  preach,  how  silent  was 
that  house.  Every  word  seenied  to  go  to  the 
heart.  And  when  1  prayed  it  seemed  as  if  God 
were  there  too !  The  sermon  was  by  no  means  se 
lect  or  a  favorite  with  me,  but  to  this  day,  though 
thirty-five  years  have  gone  since  then,  1  remember 
the  text  and  much  of  the  sermon.  I  have  heard 
some  who  were  there  say,  not  long  since,  it  was  so 
with  them.  The  text  was,  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shep 
herd,  I  shall  not  want."  It  was  a  parallelism  of 
the  model  shepherd's  treatment  of  his  flock,  and 
God's  care  and  tender  love  toward  his  people  ; 


208  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  I  think  when  the  people  went  home  that  day, 
the  Lord  seemed  nearer  and  dearer  to  them  than 
when  they  came  to  church.  When  the  meeting 
closed  there  was  a  hasty  call  of  the  official  board 
and  leading  citizens,  and  an  earnest  invitation  was 
tendered  me  to  cast  in  my  lot  with  them,  and  the 
use  of  the  house  was  offered  me  half  the  day  each 
Sabbath. 

On  the  following  Sabbath  day  I  preached  to 
them  again,  and  it  was  now  settled  in  my  mind 
that  this  was  the  field  for  me ;  so  I  negotiated  with 
Prof.  Root  for  his  farm,  and  not  long  after  I  and 
my  family  were  there,  clearing  my  farm,  visiting 
the  people,  and  preaching  the  Gospel.  I  soon  es 
tablished  three  preaching  places,  in  as  many  adja 
cent  towns,  where  every  Sabbath  day  I  preached 
one  sermon,  about  as  fully  crowded  with  Gospel 
meat  as  i  could  pack  and  press  it.  One  was  in 
Dartford,  one  in  Green  Lake  Prairie,  and  the  other 
in  Metomon.  My  usual  Sabbath  day's  journey 
to  reach  these  places  was  fifteen  miles,  when  I 
staid  at  the  latter  place  over  night ;  when  I  returned 
home  the  distance  was  nearly  thirty  miles.  Other 
weekly  meetings  I  held  in  schoolhouses,  but  the 
above  were  my  regular  appointments. 

In  process  of  time  the  schoolhouse  gave  place 
to  the  church  edifice  in  each  of  these  three  places.- 
I  greatly  enjoyed  my  work.  I  loved  the  people, 
and  they  were  not  slow  to  return  it.  I  rarely 
preached  without  feeling  upheld  by  a  hand  unseen. 
The  free  use  of  the  handkerchief  about  the  eyes  in 


PIONEER   LABORS   IN   WISCONSIN.  2OQ 

my  congregations  showed  that  others,  too,  beside 
myself,  felt  the  moving  power.  Sometimes  men 
staid  away  because  they  could  not  keep  from  weep 
ing  when  they  came. 

REVIVALS. 

Revivals  of  religion  began  to  follow  my  preach 
ing,  and  when  commenced  I  was  wont  to  follow 
them  up,  even  to  strange  places.  Sometimes  I 
spent  the  whole  winter  in  these  revival  labors,  and 
besides  doing  a  great  deal  of  work  in  visiting  and 
prayer-meetings,  I  sometimes  preached  nearly  one 
hundred  sermons  in  as  many  consecutive  days.  I 
was  by  no  means  particular  under  what  denom 
inational  auspices  I  held  these  meetings.  Thus 
often  I  preached  through  a  revival  meeting  with 
the  Baptists,  then  with  Free  Will  Baptists,  then 
with  Presbyterians  and  Methodists.  Indeed,  my 
own  denomination  complained  much  that  I  helped 
other  denominations  more  than  my  own ;  but 
I  went  where  the  way  seemed  open,  with  a 
promise  of  most  good  ;  besides,  I  believed  I  had  a 
special  mission  to  bring  all  these  churches  a  little 
nearer  together,  and  to  show  to  outsiders  the  essen 
tial  unity  of  the  whole  household  of  faith.  And  so 
it  came  to  pass  that  each  of  these  denominations 
put  in  a  special  claim  to  me  as  being  specially  near 
to  them.  Some  of  these  revivals  were  remarkable 
for  the  firm  establishment  upon  the  Rock  of  nearly 
all  the  professed  converts.  Thus,  in  one  of  them, 
in  counting  up  the  converts,  we  estimated  that 


210  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

thirty-two  gave  satisfactory  evidence  that  they  had 
passed  from  death  unto  life.  Two  years  after,  in 
looking  over  the  list,  there  were  thirty -six  of  those 
inquirers  whose  conversion  time  had  proved  to  be 
genuine. 

After  an  absence  of  twenty  years,  in  revisiting 
these  fields  I  was  surprised  at  the  number  of  min 
isters  who  came  out  of  those  revivals  and  are  now 
preaching  the  Gospel.  From  one  out  of  the  way 
place  five  preachers  came  forth,  and  from  nearly  all 
of  them  at  least  one.  Thus  and  in  such  labors  on 
the  border  I  spent  ten  of  the  most  active  and  suc 
cessful  years  of  my  life!  And,  albeit  there  were 
serious  drawbacks,  they  were  among  the  happiest 
years  of  my  life.  Did  not  the  Master  say, 
"Your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you"?  My  salary 
was  small,  seldom  rising  as  high  as  $500  a  year.  I 
had  a  wife  and  three  children  to  support.  But 
what  I  lacked  in  salary  I  made  up  in  economy, 
self-denial  and  toil  on  my  farm.  It  was  often  a 
comfort  to  read  Paul's  words,  "These  hands  have 
ministered  to  my  necessities  and  those  who  were 
with  me."  And  I  took  joyfully  tliese  extra  labors 
and  this  stinted  salary  because  God  gave  me  what 
was  better  than  gold,  he  gave  me  "souls  for  my 
hire  and  crowns  for  my  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  This  labor  on  my  farm  was  much 
criticised  by  my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and 
especially  by  the  agents  of  the  Home  Missionary 
Society.  They  even  refused  me  a  grant  of  $100 
per  annum  to  help  me  in  my  work,  solely  on  the 


PIONEER   LABORS   IN   WISCONSIN.  2H 

ground  that  T  worked  more  or  less  upon  my  farm 
to  eke  out  what  was  lacking  for  my  support  in  the 
gifts  of  my  people.  Rev.  Dexter  Clary,  long  time 
agent  of  the  great  Home  Missionary  Society,  ad 
mitted  that  the  society  had  not  in  all  the  State  of 
Wisconsin  one  home  missionary  who  preached  as 
much  as  I  did,  or  as  successfully,  but  said  the 
society  could  not  aid  me  unless  I  gave  up  work 
upon  my  farm.  "What  shall  I  do,"  I  asked,  "with 
nerves  so  unstrung  that  should  I  stop  work,  I  must 
stop  preaching  also?"  "Travel!  travel!"  he  said. 
But  I  said  that  would  not  restore  them  as  hard 
work  will.  Besides,  where  is  the  money  coming 
from,  and  who,  in  the  meantime,  will  take  care  of 
these  precious  flocks,  many  of  whose  members  are 
tender  lambs  and  need  constant  care?  No,  I  can 
not  leave  them,  and  I  will  not!  "Well!"  he  said, 
"these  are  our  printed  rules!"  and  so  they  were. 
But  in  my  view  they  ought  to  have  been  flexible 
enough  to  meet  such  a  case  as  mine.  Well,  I  told 
my  friend  Dr.  Clary  I  believed  the  Lord  had  given 
me  too  much  good  sense  to  follow  his  advice,  and 
too  strong  and  tough  muscles  to  make  it  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  society  should  help  me  in  order 
to  continue  my  work.  So  we  parted  good  friends, 
and  I  wrought  on  unaided,  and  lived  and  prospered. 
And  now  as  I  look  back  over  the  years  and  call 
up  before  me  the  fellow  missionaries  who  wrought 
by  my  side,  and  who  received  aid  from  the  Society, 
I  cannot  see  but  I  fared  about  as  well  as  they,  my 
family  lived  as  comfortably,  and  I  gave  as  much 


212  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

as  they  to  benevolent  objects  and  laid  up  against 
a  rainy  day  a  little  more  than  nine-tenths  of  them 
did.  "He  that  gathered  much  had  nothing  over, 
and  he  that  gathered  little  had  no  lack." 

STRIKING  INCIDENTS. 

During  the  ten  or  twelve  years  of  revival  labors 
on  the  frontier,  not  a  few  incidents  of  special  inter- 
est  occurred.  Among  them  there  rises  up  before 
me  one  in  which  two  dollars  played  a  conspicuous 
part. 

A  gentleman  and  his  wife  came  to  our  place 
from  Vermont.  Soon  alter  his  arrival  he  visited 
me  with  a  Mr.  Brooks,  a  friend  of  his,  in  quest  of 
a  new  milch  cow.  I  showed  him  two  or  three  I 
had  to  sell.  He  took  a  liking  to  one,  for  which  I 
asked  twenty-seven  dollars.  Would  I  not  take 
twenty-five?  No,  I  had  rather  keep  her  than  part 
with  her  for  less.  He  had  heard  my  neighbor,  Mr. 
Sherwood,  had  some  fine  cows  for  sale.  Yes,  he 
has  I  hear.  They  are  blooded  cows  and  1  should 
think  much  nicer  than  mine,  but  I  suspect  his  price 
is  higher.  And  I  advised  him  to  go  and  see  them 
and  showed  them  a  short  way  across  lots  to  his 
house.  They  started  but  soon  came  back  and  took 
the  cow.  That  night  I  felt  somewhat  troubled 
about  that  cow  trade.  Perhaps  she  was  worth  only 
twenty-five  ;  besides,  this  man  is  a  stranger,  perhaps 
not  specially  well  off,  sold  out  at  low  prices,  has 
had  an  expensive  journey  and  now  has  to  buy  at 
high  prices  and  feels  poor!  So  it  was  with  me ;  I 


PIONEER  LABORS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

know  the  heart  of  a  stranger.  I  ought^to  have 
been  specially  lenient  in  his  case.  Well,  I  promised 
the  Lord  I  would  hand  him  back  two  dollars, 
turned  over  and  went  to  sleep.  Some  days  after, 
meeting  him  on  the  street,  I  handed  him  the  two 
dollars  and  said,  "Here  are  two  dollars  which  belong 
to  you."  He  took  them  mechanically  and  asked 
whence  they  came.  I  told  him  my  thoughts  after 
he  left  with  the  cow,  and  the  promise  I  made  to 
the  Lord.  He  thrust  back  the  money  and  protested 
against  receiving  it.  Said  the  cow  was  better  than 
I  had  recommended  her  to  be.  She  was  worth 
twenty-seven  dollars.  He  would  not  take  that  sum 
for  her.  But  I  refused  to  take  it  back,  saying  I 
had  given  my  word  to  the  Lord  and  could  not  go 
back  upon  it.  That  night  at  the  supper  table  he 
laid  the  two  dollars  before  his  wife  and  asked  her 
to  guess  where  it  came  from,  and  when  she  could 
not,  he  informed  her  and  added,  "I  believe  that 
man  is  a  Christian  if  there  are  any,  and  I  am  going 
to  hear  him  preach  next  Sabbath."  So  the  next 
Sabbath  they  came.  The  meeting  was  in  the  town 
schoolhouse,  and  before  we  built  our  church. 
They  listened  attentively.  Going  home  they  talked 
about  the  sermon.  It  was  excellent,  only  it  was 
too  personal;  it  meant  them.  Somebody  had  informed 
Mr.  Bristol  of  their  history,  and  that  sermon  was 
cut  out  so  as  to  fit  their  case.  But  how  did  he 
know  they  were  coming  to  the  meeting?  The  next 
Sabbath  they  were  there  and  joined  in  the  singing. 
They  were  still  more  interested  in  the  discourse 


214  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

t 

than  the  Sabbath  previous.  The  only  fault  was  as 
before,  too  personal.  He  certainly  meant  us  this 
time.  Who  had  told  him?  Dora,  or  Azel,  or 
Susan.  It  was  too  bad!  They  would  give  them  a 
talking  to  for  it.  That  week  they  saw  Dora  and 
she  denied  it.  Had  not  spoken  with  Mr.  Bristol  in 
three  weeks,  except  on  the  Sabbath  at  church. 
Then  it  was  Susan  sure.  She  was  seen,  but  in  her 
mild  way  said,  No  she  had  never  informed  the  min 
ister  of  their  history  nor  any  one  else.  Azel  was 
seen.  He  smiled  and  said,  "That  is  characteristic 
of  our  minister's  preaching.  People  often  go  away 
saying,  'He  told  my  history  sure/  "  So  as  they 
talked  about  it  one  evening,  Mr.  Williams 
remarked,  "I  have  heard  it  said  that  when  people 
are  under  conviction  they  imagine  the  preacher 
means  them  in  all  he  says/5  And  then  there  was 
a  long  solemn  pause  and  the  conviction  came  upon 
them,  "God's  spirit  then  is  striving  with  us,  we  are 
under  conviction!  Now  is  our  accepted  time  and 
this  the  day  of  salvation,"  and  before  the  clock 
struck  twelve  they  had  bowed  upon  their  knees, 
had  opened  the  door  and  the  Friend  of  sinners  had 
come  in  and  was  supping  with  them  and  they  with 
him!  Meantime  my  heart  had  been  greatly  moved 
toward  the  strangers,  and  the  next  day  I  called 
upon  them  and  they  told  the  story  as  I  have  related 
it.  Rapidly  they  grew  in  grace,  united  with  our 
church,  Mr.  Williams  became  leader  of  our  choir, 
superintendent  of  our  Sabbath  school  and  I  believe 
deacon  of  our  church.  Sometimes  I  had  calls  from 


PIONEER   LABORS  IN  WISCONSIN.  21 5 

other  places,  but  he  used  to  pray  that  I  might  not 
leave  till  he  was  called  away.  The  prayer  was 
answered.  Just  before  I  left  the  Lord  called  him 
home.  I  was  with  him  at  his  bedside  the  last  half 
day  of  his  life,  saw  him  crossing  the  Jordan,  and 
heard  him  say  when  well  nigh  over,  "I  am  happy!" 
"And  I  say  unto  you,  make  to  yourselves  friends 
of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  that  when  ye 
fail  they  may  receive  you  into  everlasting  habita 
tions."  Another  incident  full  of  interest  to  me, 
yet  pathetic  and  sad  in  its  outcome,  occurred  in 
connection  with  a  revival  meeting  I  held  in  Ripon, 
a  thriving  young  city  adjacent  to  the  village  of 
Dartford. 

ALDERMAN   BERLIN. 

One  Alderman  Berlin,  whose  home  was  in  the 
township  of  Green  Lake,  and  a  well  to  do  farmer, 
was  living  in  Ripon  at  the  time.  Being  of  a  liter 
ary  turn  of  mind  and  fond  of  society  he  spent  his 
winters  in  town,  boarding  at  the  best  hotel.  In  his 
rooms  were  wont  to  gather,  once  or  twice  a  week, 
men  of  like  literary  tastes,  education  and  leisure — 
doctors,  lawyers,  etc.  These  meetings  were  large 
ly  for  the  discussion  of  topics  of  interest,  and  were 
concluded  with  wine  drinking  and  feasting.  Un 
fortunately  Alderman  Berlin  was  a  disbeliever  in 
the  Bible  and  all  revealed  religion.  As  our  meet 
ing  progressed  and  not  a  few  professed  conversions 
occurred,  some  of  them  being  men  and  women  of 
note  and  influence,  the  matter  was  brought  up  in 
this  literary  circle.  In  the  course  of  the  talk  about 


2l6  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

it,  Alderman  Berlin  remarked  that  "  the  philosophy 
of  a  revival,  or  of  these  periodical  religious  excite 
ments,  had  never  been  satisfactorily  explained  to 
him.  He  would  like  to  understand  it."  Referring 
to  the  preacher,  he  said,  "  There  is  Rev.  Bristol, 
carrying  on  these  meetings  ;  he  is  my  neighbor ; 
lives  just  across  the  lake.  He  is  a  man  of  educa 
tion,  well  informed  on  all  subjects,  and  a  man  of 
good  common  sense.  How  is  it  that  he  can  be 
carried  away  with  these  excitements  ;  and  more 
than  that,  how  can  he  do  so  much  to  promote  them  ? 
It  is  a  mystery !  I  propose  we  investigate  it." 
"  Agreed,"  they  all  replied  ;  "  let  us  go  to  the  meet 
ings  and  watch  the  whole  process."  So  the  fol 
lowing  evening  they  all  came  to  church. 

Quite  a  sensation  was  produced  as  a  score  or 
so  of  them  came  filing  into  the  church,  led  by  Mr. 
Berlin.  They  gave  good  attention,  and  even 
staid  after  sermon  till  the  inquiry  meeting  was 
half  through,  and  then  quietly  withdrew,  and 
repaired  to  their  quarters  in  the  hotel.  A  discus 
sion  followed,  but  the  conclusion  was  that  they 
had  not  got  the  clue  yet.  The  discourse  was  sen 
sible,  and  admitting  that  there  was  a  God  and  that 
the  Bible  was  His  Revelation,  the  conclusions 
were  irresistible.  They  would  go  again.  The 
next  night  they  came  in  a  body  and  were  among 
my  most  quiet  and  gentlemanly  hearers.  Return 
ing  to  their  rooms  they  admitted  "  that  was  a  very 
practical  discourse !  Would  all  men  live  as  the 
preacher  exhorted  them  to  do,  this  would  be  a 


PIONEER  LABORS  IN  WISCONSIN.  2I/ 

vastly  better  world  than  it  is.  Such  preaching 
will  hurt  none  of  us."  They  were  surprised  at  the 
absence  of  excitement.  There  was  no  effort  to 
produce  it.  The  appeals  were  all  to  man's  con 
science,  his  reason,  his  common  sense.  "  Surely 
this  is  not  the  kind  of  revival  so  often  described ! 
Yet  what  effect  that  preaching  had  !  How  many 
were  moved  by  it !  We  will  go  again."  And 
again  they  came,  and  so  on  for  several  meetings, 
the  judgment  on  each  occasion  being  the  same 
substantially. 

It  happened  one  evening,  during  the  inquiry 
meeting,  that  I  went  into  the  back  part  of  the 
church  to  encourage  a  timid  inquirer  to  come  for 
ward  to  the  consecration  seats.  The  congregation 
was  standing  and  singing.  Mr.  Berlin  was  in  the 
aisle.  I  had  no  thought  of  asking  him  to  go  for 
ward  until,  as  I  passed  him,  an  impulse  came  over 
me  to  do  so,  and  with  it  an  appeal  whose  language 
I  have  never  been  able  to  recall.  Like  a  flash  it 
came  and  went,  but  such  was  its  effect  upon  him 
that  he  took  my  arm  and  walked  half  way  down 
the  aisle.  Then  he  held  back  and  said,  "  This  is  a 
great  step !  Excuse  me  to-night !"  "  Mr,  Berlin, 
do  you  want  to  be  excused  from  pledging  yourself 
to  do  anything  which  is  right  toward  your  Creator 
and  your  fellow  men?"  "  Let  me  have  till  to-mor 
row  night  to  think  about  it."  "  God  has  given 
you  fifty  years  to  think  over  the  great  matter. 
Have  you  the  heart  to  ask  for  more  time  in  so  plain 
a  matter?"  "It  is  a  great  step  for  me  to  take." 


218  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

"Is  there  not  more  danger  in  not  taking  it?" 
•'  Yes.  yes,  I  know  it :  but  you  must  excuse  me  for 
to-night."  "  But  will  God  excuse  you  ?  Will 
your  conscienc 

Well,  so  we  stood  in  the  aisle  and  reasoned,  my 
heart  yearning  after  him,  as  once  Paul  stood  and 
reasoned  with  trembling  Felix,  when  he  said,  "  Go 
thy  way  for  this  time ;  when  I  have  a  convenient 
season  I  will  call  for  thee."  He  sank  down  into  a 
side-slip,  and  slowly  I  went  down  the  aisle,  with 
longing  looks  behind,  at  the  seat  where  my  friend 
sat  down.  The  meeting  proceeded,  and  "they 
that  were  ready  went  into  the  marriage."  The 
next  morning,  before  the  sun  was  up,  a  boy  came 
tamy  boarding  place,  bearing  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Berlin,  and  thus  it  began : 

-DEAR  FRIEND  :  Can  you  forgive  me  for  the  sor 
row  I  gave  you  by  not  complying  with  your 
request  last  evening?  No  act  of  my  whole  life  has 
ever  stung  me  so  deeply!  That  request  so  kindly 
presented,  so  gently  pressed,  and  prompted  I  well 
know  by  a  deep  interest  in  my  eternal  welfare,  how 
could  I  refuse  to  comply?  No  one  ever  presented 
this  great  matter  to  me  in  such  a  rational  light  before. 
No  one  ever  took  my  arm  before  and  volunteered 
to  go  with  me  to  the  altars  of  the  Lord,  and  I  can 
not  forgive  myself  for  the  grief  it  gave  you  because 
I  did  not  go."  etc.,  etc.  It  closed  with  an  invitation 
to  call  at  his  rooms  that  day.  I  did  so.  But  his 
fertile  mind  had  conceived  a  plan  of  cUlay  from 
which  I  could  not  dissuade  him.  It  was  that  in 


PIONEER   LABORS   IN   WISCONSIN.  2 19 

the  coming  summer,  after  the  spring's  work  was 
done,  he  was  to  hire  a  man  to  take  my  place  on 
my  farm,  and  I  was  to  spend  a  couple  of  weeks  at 
his  place,  and  there  we  would  talk  over  the  whole 
matter,  and  then  he  would  settle  it  forever.  In  vain 
I  argued  against  delay,  its  sinfulness  and  its  dan 
gers.  He  was  persistent.  He  still  attended  the 
meetings,  was  very  attentive,  and  even  serious. 
The  proposed  discussion  of  the  philosophy  of  a 
revival  was  dropped  in  the  club.  Our  meeting 
closed.  Over  one  hundred  registered  their  names 
as  having  come  over  on  the  Lord's  side.  But  my 
friend  Alderman  Berlins  name  was  not  there! 
As  the  last  snows  of  winter  were  leaving  the  hillsides 
and  hollows,  and  I  had  returned  to  my  home,  a 
messenger  drove  up  to  my  door  with  a  livery  team 
smoking  with  swift  driving  and  said,  "Alderman 
Berlin  is  dying,  and  wishes  you  to  hasten  to  his  bed 
side."  I  sprang  into  the  carriage  and  went  with 
him.  When  I  arrived  I  found  the  room  full  of 
doctors  and  nurses  and  friends,  and  Mr.  Berlin 
lying  across  the  bed  vomiting  and  purging  inces 
santly,  his  eyes  bloodshot  and  protruding  from  their 
sockets  and  inexpressible  agony  in  his  countenance! 
Oh,  the  look  he  gave  me  as  I  entered  and  took 
his  trembling  hand!  He  would  have  spoken  but 
the  vomiting  prevented.  I  did  not  say  one  word 
and  only  looked  upward  as  if  to  say,  "Look  to  God 
my  friend,  for  none  can  help  you  now  but  him.'* 
And  then  I  went  back  to  the  window  and  leaning 
my  brow  upon  the  sash,  silently  prayed  for  my 


220  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

dying  neighbor.  Soon  after  his  understanding 
failed  him,  and  before  twelve  o'clock  that  night 
the  body  was  dead  and  the  spirit  had  returned  to 
God  who  gave  it!  Where  now  were  those  friendly 
conferences  on  the  great  matter  of  personal  religion 
he  had  planned  to  take  place  in  the  early  summer, 
in  the  groves  around  his  rural  home?  And  what 
had  become  of  those  arrogant  hopes?  His  family 
and  friends  wished  me  to  preach  his  funeral  ser 
mon,  and  I  did  so.  But  it  was  a  sad  service, 
relieved  only  by  the  hope  that  on  his  dying  bed, 
like  the  dying  Israelite  bitten  by  the  serpent  in  the 
wilderness,  he  had  looked  to  the  cross  and  Him 
that  hung  thereon  and  been  forgiven!  And  Felix 
said  unto  Paul,  "Go  thy  way  for  this  time.  When 
I  have  a  convenient  season  I  will  call  for  thee." 

THE  BOW  DRAWN  AT  VENTURE. 

Another  incident  more  pleasant  in  its  final 
result  occurred  during  the  progress  of  a  meeting  I 
held  in  Bluffton.  In  that  revival  nearly  all  the 
people  in  that  vicinity  were  either  converted  or 
greatly  moved.  I  visited  in  the  daytime  and 
preached  in  the  evening.  I  was  quite  successful  in 
visiting  from  house  to  house ;  but  especially  so  in 
talking  with  the  skeptically  inclined.  Somehow 
it  became  a  current  saying  that  in  talking  with  Mr. 
Bristol  it  would  not  do  for  an  infidel  to  admit  any 
thing ;  if  he  did,  no  matter  what  it  was,  Mr.  Bristol 
would  begin  at  that  admission,  and  by  inexorable 
logic  compel  the  man  to  admit  all  the  great  truths 


PIONEER  LABORS   IN  WISCONSIN.  221 

of  religion.  In  the  course  of  a  day's  visiting,  I 
called  upon  a  family  where  the  husband  and  wife 
had  agreed  that  they  would  admit  nothing.  Mr. 
Bristol  should  not  catch  them.  They  received  me 
with  cold  and  formal  politeness,  and  then  squared 
off  for  resistance.  After  a  few  commonplace 
remarks,  I  observed  that  we  were  having  some 
very  interesting  meetings.  "They  say  so"  was  the 
reply.  "Don't  you  believe  it  would  be  a  great 
blessing  in  this  community,  if  we  should  all  from 
this  time,  begin  to  love  the  Lord  with  all  our  heart, 
and  our  neighbor  as  ourselves?"  "Well,  there  are 
different  opinions  about  this.  We  don't  know." 
"You  believe  the  Bible,  don't  you?"  "Well,  some 
times  we  think  it  may  be  true,  and  sometimes  not. 
Many  learned  men  don't  believe  it  at  all,  and  some 
do.  We  don't  know  who  is  right."  "You  believe 
there  is  a  God,  do  you  not,  who  made  you,  and 
all  things  so  wondrously?"  "Don't  know  what  to 
think,  when  wiser  people  than  we  regard  it  as  an 
unsettled  question,  whether  these  things  came  of 
themselves,  or  whether  there  was  a  God  who  made 
them — don't  know!  Half  the  world  reject  your 
God  and  believe  in  other  Gods,  and  of  the  rest, 
many  believe  in  no  God  at  all.  Who  knows  which 
is  right?"  "You  believe  that  you  exist,  and  that 
these  two  boys  of  yours  are  real  beings,  do  you  not?" 
"Well,  maybe  we  exist,  and  maybe  not;  it  is  all 
guesswork  after  all!"  By  this  time  1  saw  clearly 
their  intent  to  admit  nothing,  and  not  wishing  to 
have  my  visit  end  thus,  I  remarked  to  the  man, 

i 


222  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

"You  and  I  must  be  of  about  the  same  age."  "What 
is  your  age?"  he  asked,  and  when  I  gave  it  he  said, 
"I  too  was  born  in  the  same  year.  Was  your 
father  a  minister?"  he  asked.  "No,  he  was  not 
even  a  professor,  was  your  father?"  "Yes,"  said  he, 
"he  was  a  Methodist  presiding  elder."  I  bade 
them  pleasantly  a  good-afternoon,  and  went  on  my 
way  with  the  prayer  in  my  heart,  that  on  some 
future  occasion  I  might  be  more  successful.  When 
I  was  out  of  hearing  the  man  remarked  to  his  wife, 
"There,  he  did  not  catch  us,  did  he?"  She  gave  a 
cold  and  reluctant  assent  and  sat  pensive,  looking 
out  of  the  window,  as  if  she  felt  that  they  had  small 
cause  for  congratulation  over  a  victory  obtained 
at  the  expense  of  denying  the  Bible,  the  being  of 
God  and  their  own  existence  too,  and  that  of  their 
dear  boys  also!  Had  it  come  to  this!  And  all  to 
get  rid  of  conversion,  of  Christ,  and  of  Heaven! 
For  a  few  moments  they  sat  in  silence  and  then  the 
man  went  out  to  the  barn,  and  thus  he  mused  as 
he  went :  "That  man  and  I  are  of  the  same  age 
substantially,  but  what  a  difference  there  is  between 
us!  He  is  a  Christian,  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel, 
and  the  blessings  of  many  ready  to  perish  is  coming 
upon  him!  But  I — what  have  I  done ;  not  yet 
given  my  heart  to  God.  Not  one  soul  was  ever 
led  to  Christ  by  me.  Many  have  been  kept  away! 
No  doubt  my  wife  had  long  since  been  converted 
but  I  stood  in  the  way.  Even  now  I  can  see  her 
heart  is  yearning  after  the  pearl  of  great  price. 
And  those  dear  boys  are  held  back  from  salvation 


PIONEER  LABORS  IN   WISCONSIN.  223 

by  their  father's  words  and  example.  My  father 
has  prayed  much  for  me  and  so  have  many  others, 
but  I  have  resisted  them  all,  and  to-day  when  the 
man  of  God  called  to  win  me  to  the  Lord  he  loves, 
I  braced  myself  against  him  and  denied  truths 
plainer  than  the  sun  in  the  heavens!  I  made  myself 
a  fool  in  his  eyes  and  in  mine  own  too!  /  lied  to 
him!  Yes,  that  is  the  word,  I  lied!  He  knew  it, 
and  God  knew  it,  and  I  knew  it  also!"  When  he 
reached  the  stable  the  horses  turned  and  looked 
wildly  at  him  as  if  they  feared  the  coming  of  a 
man  so  wicked!  He  tried  to  pray  but  could  not 
say  a  word;  his  mouth  was  shut,  the  heavens  were 
brass,  as  if  God  had  risen  up  and  shut  the  door 
and  said,  "Not  one  word  from  you!"  He  staggered 
back  to  the  house  and  said,  "Wife,  get  ready,  you 
and  the  children.  1  am  going  to  meeting  to-night." 
And  when  I  reached  the  schoolhouse  where  our 
meetings  were  held,  there  they  were,  husband,  wife 
and  their  boys,  all  sitting  on  the  lowest  seat  before 
the  desk,  all  with  faces  covered  with  handkerchiefs, 
sobbing  and  waiting  for  some  one  to  come  to  pray 
for  them,  whose  words  God  would  hear.  Before 
the  close  of  that  evening's  meeting  they  were 
rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  At  a  sub 
sequent  experience  meeting  they  told  the  story  as 
I  have  rehearsed  it.  "And  a  certain  man  drew  a 
bow  at  venture  and  it  smote  the  king  between  the 
joints  of  the  harness."  "In  the  morning  sow  thy 
seed  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy  hand 
for  thou  knowest  not  which  shall  prosper,  whether 


224  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be  alike 
good." 

ATTEMPT  TO  BREAK  LTP  A  MEETING  UNSUCCESSFUL. 

The  best  of  order  always  attended  my  preach 
ing;  save  only  in  one  case  was  ever  an  attempt 
at  disturbance  made.  A  scandalous  affair  trans 
pired  near  one  of  my  places  of  preaching  in  Green 
Lake  township.  It  had  long  and  odious  ventila 
tion  in  the  courts,  and  finally  the  unfortunate 
young  woman  in  the  affair,  the  victim  of  outra 
geous  perfidy  and  treachery,  was  defeated,  through 
the  perjuries  and  combination  of  a  large  number 
of  young  roughs  who  abounded  in  that  vicinity. 
The  rascals  escaped  and  gloried  in  their  shame. 
About  that  time  I  preached  a  sermon  there  on  the 
text,  "  Their  feet  shall  slide  in  due  time  /" 

I  did  not  know  that  the  principal  perpetrator 
was  there.  Indeed,  I  did  not  know  him.  But  he 
said  and  others,  too,  that  in  the  warmth  of  my  denun 
ciation  of  such  crimes  as  his,  I  turned  toward 
him,  shook  my  finger  in  his  face  and  poured  vials 
of  wrath  upon  him  without  measure.  That  I  said 
in  effect,  "  Take  care,  young  man  !  Your  day  is 
coming !  It  is  nothing  that  an  earthly  court  has 
acquitted  you  !  Justice  is  on  your  track,  and  will 
take  you  to  another  court!  There,  there  is  no 
quibbling. 

"  Not  a  fact  can  be  withheld.  No  false  tes 
timony  will  be  heard.  The  pit  will  open  before 
you  and  'Your  feet  will  slide  in  due  time  ! '  " 


PIONEER    LABORS   IN   WISCONSIN.  22$ 

It  did  not  even  occur  to  me  that  he  was  there, 
or  that  I  had  offended  any  one.  It  was  an  imagi 
nary  young  man  I  had  in  mind.  The  next  time  I 
went  to  preach  there,  I  saw  an  immense  crowd 
gathered  about  the  house,  horses  and  teams 
three  or  four  times  the  usual  number  hitched  to 
the  trees  and  fences.  Some  influential  and  noted 
person  must  have  died  !  Who  could  it  be?  This 
is  a  funeral  gathering !  What  shall  I  preach  ? 
Slowly  I  drove  up,  gathering  my  thoughts  about 
a  funeral  discourse.  Hitching  my  horse  several 
men  came  out  to  me,  and  told  me  the  cause  of  the 
gathering,  said  the  excitement  was  great,  the 
roughs  had  taken  possession  of  the  house ;  that 
it  was  not  safe  for  me  to  go  in,  etc.  I  smiled  and 
said,  If  that  was  all,  I  would  go  in.  And  so  I 
went  in,  followed  by  my  friends  and  all  who  could 
find  standing  room  there. 

Omitting  singing — a  few  words  of  prayer — I 
commenced  my  discourse,  standing  on  the  front 
edge  of  the  platform,  almost  within  reach  of  the  fore* 
most  ot  the  roughs.  I  don't  think  I  looked  or  spoke 
as  if  I  was  much  afraid  of  them.  For  some  five  min 
utes  they  were  restive  and  then  one  blurted  out, 

"That's  a  d d  lie !"  I  paused,  looked  at  him  in  the 

eye  till  he  turned  this  way  and  that  uneasily.  Then 
I  repeated  the  remark  and  went  on  a  little  and  then 
another  said,  "  That  is  a  lie."  I  now  said  in  strong 
voice,  "  It  is  evident  there  are  persons  here  who 
have  come  to  break  up  this  meeting !  To  prevent 
us  from  worshiping  God,  according  to  the  dictates 

'5 


226  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

of  our  judgment  and  conscience.  And  I  propose 
to  stop  right  here  and  settle  the  question  once  for 
all — whether  law  and  order  reigns  in  this  part  of 
Green  Lake,  or  whether  a  mob  rules  us.  I  am 
about  to  put  the  matter  to  vote,  and  I  want  you 
all  to  stand  by  your  colors  like  men  and  women 
too.  The  law  of  the  land,  the  law  we  have  all 
pledged  ourselves  to  support,  guarantees  to  us  the 
right  of  religious  worship,  and  denounces  punish 
ments  against  those  who  disturb  such  worship. 
Do  you  think  these  laws  good  laws?  Do  you 
mean  to  defend  them  ?  Will  you  allow  a  few 
roughs  to  trample  on  them  here,  and  on  you  all  ? 
If  I  mistake  not,  you  will  not. 

"I  now  ask  all  in  this  house,  who  do  not  believe  in 
the  right  of  religious  worship  guaranteed  by  the 
laws  of  Wisconsin  and  who  mean  to-day  to  trample 
them  under  foot,  to  raise  their  hands  !  "  Three  or 
four  hands  were  raised,  but  quickly  taken  down. 
"Hold  them  up,  young  men,"  I  said.  "Don't  take 
them  down  so  quick.  I  want  to  show  you  to  the 
people.  They  want  to  know  who  you  are. 

"Only  three  or  four  that  sustain  these  disturb 
ances  of  our  meeting  ?  If  there  is  one  more,  lift 
your  hand  !  For  three  or  four  is  a  contemptible 
minority  in  such  a  crowd  as  this !"  No  more  hands 
being  raised,  I  said,  "Now  I  am  going  to  call  for 
the  vote  on  the  other  side. 

"Those  who  believe  in  the  right  of  undisturbed 
religious  worship,  and  in  these  State  laws  referred 
to,  and  are  determined  to  maintain  them,  peaceably, 


PIONEER   LABORS   IN   WISCONSIN.  22/ 

if  they  can,  and  forcibly,  if  they  must,  will  now 
rise  to  your  feet  and  those  standing  lift  your 
hands  !"  And  at  that  the  whole  congregation  rose, 
save  only  the  three,  and  those  standing,  raised  high 
their  hands  ! 

After  the  vote  was  taken,  I  admonished  these 
young  men  to  show  a  decent  respect  for  that  vote. 
I  then  recommenced  my  discourse,  and  went 
through  without  interruption. 

My  meetings  there  were  never  after  disturbed. 
Going  home  that  evening,  three  of  these  young 
men  went  before  me  and  made  a  fence  across  the 
road !  I  saw  the  obstruction  and  them  some  twenty 
rods  distant,  aad  walked  my  horse  slowly  as  I 
approached  it.  Seeing  a  low  spot  I  drove  over  it 
and  the  wheels  knocked  down  the  rails  and  I 
passed  on.  Two  stood  on  one  side  and  one  on  the 
other,  but  they  did  not  venture  to  attack  me.  I 
had  one  hand  in  an  overcoat  pocket,  and  possibly 
they  thought  it  had  hold  of  something  there  ! 

NARROW   ESCAPE  FROM   DROWNING. 

Having  an  evening  appointment  across  Green 
Lake,  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  I  attempted  to 
cross  over  on  the  ice.  Borrowing  a  pair  of  skates 
I  endeavored  to  go  straight  across.  Reaching  the 
middle  of  the  lake,  I  found  a  crack  and  open 
water  some  ten  feet  wide,  extending  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  the  lake.  I  was  obliged  to  go 
down  to  the  inlet  some  three  miles  distant  to  get 
round  it.  This  made  me  late.  It  began  to  grow 


228  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

dark  as  I  went  up  near  the  south  shore.  I  passed 
several  air-holes,  and  fearing  I  should  fall  into  one 
as  I  skated  in  the  dark,  I  picked  up  a  fish  pole 
lying  upon  the  ice  and  ran  it  forward  of  me.  I 
was  skating  rapidly  when  suddenly  my  pole 
dropped  off  the  ice  into  the  water,  and  I  whirled 
upon  my  skates  and  made  for  shore,  and  walked 
the  rest  of  the  way. 

The  next  morning  returning,  I  went  to  the 
place  where  the  pole  slipped  from  my  hand  and 
went  down,  and  lo,  the  scratch  of  my  skate  with 
in  perhaps  five  inches  of  the  slippery  edge  !  Had 
I  plunged  in,  I  should  probably  have  come  up  under 
the  ice!  and  had  I  not,  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  have  got  out  with  skates  on,  and  had  I  suc 
ceeded  in  this  latter,  with  my  wet  clothes  on,  I 
should  probably  have  been  frozen  to  death  before 
I  could  have  reached  the  nearest  house,  as  it  was 
bitterly  cold  that  night.  This  instance  of  immi 
nent  peril  does  not  stand  alone  in  the  history  of  my 
life.  Twenty  others  or  more,  of  like  perils  have 
been  safely  passed  through.  Yet  I  have  never 
had  a  bone  broken,  or  a  limb  disjointed. 

"  The  Angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round 
them  that  fear  him,  and  delivereth  them." 

Living  on  the  borders  of  Green  Lake,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  sheets  of  water  in  Wisconsin, 
I  had  occasional  visits  from  work-worn  ministers, 
in  need  of  a  vacation,  and  whose  slender  salaries 
did  not  admit  of  travel  or  a  resort  to  expensive 
watering  places.  Those  visits  and  the  privilege 


PIONEER  LABORS  IN   WISCONSIN.  229 

of  hospitality  I  greatly  enjoyed.  Was  it  not 
a  gentle  way  of  ministering  to  the  disciples  of  the 
Lord  ?  But  there  was  one  drawback. 

Staying  with  me  over  the  Sabbath,  they  would 
naturally  expect  me  to  invite  them  to  preach  for 
me.  They  would  consent  though  weary,  lest  they 
should  seem  ungrateful  for  the  hospitality.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  always  had  a  sermon  in  mind, 
which  1  longed  to  preach  to  my  people.  "  And 
the  word  of  the  Lord  was  as  fire  shut  up  in  my 
bones."  It  was  a  great  relief  to  preach  these  mes 
sages  as  I  received  them.  Perhaps  this  resulted 
from  having  nearly  all  the  time  a  state  of  revival 
in  some  one  of  my  fields,  inquiring  souls  to  be  led 
to  Christ,  and  lambs  of  the  flock  to  be  fed  and 
nourished.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  had 
often  to  apologize  for  a  seeming  want  of  politeness 
in  not  inviting  them  to  preach. 

On  one  occasion  a  city  pastor  spent  a  Sabbath 
with  me.  Learning  the  condition  of  my  people, 
he  positively  refused  to  preach,  but  went  the  Sab 
bath-day  rounds  with  me.  He  was  struck  with 
the  solemn  attention  given,  and  the  teardrops 
which  ran  down  many  a  cheek.  When  I  went 
down  from  the  pulpit  they  gathered  around  me 
and  told  of  the  struggles  of  so  and  so,  the  new 
hopes  of  another,  the  conviction  of  a  third,  etc.,  etc. 
Such  a  one  wished  to  be  prayed  for. 

Then  we  hastened  on  ten  miles  to  the  second* 
service.  Then  five  miles  further  to  a  five  o'clock 
appointment  in  a  large  schoolhouse  in  a  grove. 


23O  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

Farm  wagons  were  all  around,  and  teams  tied  to 
the  trees.  The  house  was  full  and  we  had  scarce 
room  to  sit  down,  for  the  platform  and  aisles  were 
filled.  I  presume  we  looked  tired,  and  so  the 
whole  audience  broke  forth  in  song-singing: 

"  There  is  rest  for  the  weary, 
There  is  rest  for  the  weary, 
On  the  other  side  of  Jordan, 
In  the  sweet  fields  of  Eden, 
There  is  rest  for  the  weary, 
There  is  rest  for  you." 

This  spontaneous  exhibition  of  Christian  sym 
pathy  greatly  affected  my  visitor,  and  he  wept. 
I  was  used  to  it.  The  country  minister  gets  very 
close  to  the  hearts  of  his  people  ;  no  convention 
alities  hold  him  off  at  a  distance. 

On  our  way  home  my  city  brother  seemed  sad, 
and  said  little.  I  asked  the  cause.  He  replied,  "I 
have  been  thinking  of  the  poor  pay  I  get  for  preach- 
ing." 

Why,  said  I,  I  thought  you  had  a  fine  salary,  of 
— hundred  dollars  and  promptly  paid  !  "Ah,  yes," 
he  said  "in  money  !  But,  brother,  money  never  can 
pay  for  the  heart  work  of  preaching.  Nothing  pays 
for  that  but  such  pay  as  I  have  seen  you  receive 
to-day.  We  must  have  'souls  for  our  hire,  or  we 
get  nothing  !  * 

Never  after  that  did  I  repine  because  my  salary 
was  small,  or  envy  the  large  stipend  of  the  city 
minister,  while  the  joy  of  seeing  souls  converted 
was  mine,  and  though  poor  I  seemed  to  be  making 


PIONEER   LABORS   IN   WISCONSIN.  231 

many  rich.  To  the  young  man  about  to  enter  the 
ministry,  and  choose  his  field,  I  commend  this 
remark  of  the  city  clergyman,  that  nothing  pays 
for  preaching  the  gospel  but  salvation  and  life 
attending  the  Word. 

The  labors  in  the  midst  of  which  these 
scenes  transpired  stretched  over  a  period  of  ten 
years  or  thereabouts.  They  cover  the  prime  of 
my  life.  Unnoted  and  unknown  it  was  to  the 
general  public.  But  souls  were  there,  and  their  Re 
deemer,  too!  Not  large  were  my  audiences,  but  we 
had  audience  with  God.  My  salary  was  meager, 
but  yet  my  bread  was  given  and  my  water  made 
sure,  and  the  discipline  of  faith  and  patience  there 
was  beyond  all  price!  And  here  again  let  me  say 
to  young  men  looking  for  fields  of  clerical  labor — 
don't  be  afraid  of  frontier  work — of  going  as  Paul 
did,  where  Christ  was  not  preached,  or  where,  as  the 
colored  sage  expressed  it,  "Der  am  little  money  and 
much  Debil."  Nor  hesitate  to  sit  down  in  a  low 
place  till  another  bid  thee  go  up  higher.  I  once 
heard  President  Mahan  say,  "I  thank  the  Lord  he 
will  let  me  work  anywhere." 

During  these  ten  years  twenty-one  distinct  revi 
val  meetings  were  held  by  me — where  I  did  the 
preaching.  In  these  from  ten  to  100  or  more  were 
hopefully  born  of  the  Spirit  in  each  of  them. 
While  in  California  and  praying  for  a  restoration 
of  nervous  health  and  vigor,  I  often  fixed  upon 
ten  years,  and  asked  that  God  would  give  me  that 
length  of  time  for  gospel  work!  Singularly,  as 


232  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

this  period  became  well  nigh  spent,  the  old  brain 
trouble  began  to  return  in  force.  Sleep  departed 
from  me.  Nervous  action  became  spasmodic  and 
unreliable.  The  long  winter  campaign  through 
which  I  wrought  in  season  and  out  of  season — not 
counting  my  life  dear  to  myself — had  at  last 
broken  down  sadly  the  mental  machinery. 

Some  change  must  be  resorted  to.  A  call  com 
ing  from  Elm  wood,  111.,  I  went  down  there  and 
preached  a  couple  of  years.  Each  winter  we  had  a 
revival  in  our  church,  and  one  of  the  winters  I  aided 
Bro.  J.M.Williams — my  old  classmate — in  a  revival 
of  marked  power  in  his  church  in  Farmington,  111. 
But  I  was  scarcely  myself  there.  The  troubles  of 
nerve  and  brain  were  constant  and  increasing,  and 
called  for  a  halt.  So  I  resigned  and  went  back  to 
Wisconsin,  and  to  my  old  home. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ACROSS  THE  PLAINS   TO  OREGON. 

A  few  months  of  rest  at  Dartford  did  me  little 
good.  I  suffered  from  sick  headache  about  one- 
third  of  the  time,  and  the  average  of  sleep  was  not 
more  than  one  night  in  three.  I  needed  not  only 
physical  exercise  but  change — something  to  get  the 
mind  out  of  the  old  ruts,  the  grooves  it  had  worn 
so  deep.  Then  came  the  happy  thought  of  a  trip 
across  the  plains,  with  covered  wagon  drawn  by 
oxen  or  horses,  and  plodding  along  for  six  months, 
with  little  opportunity  for  reading  books  or  men 
tal  exercise,  and  an  abundance  of  calls  for  muscu 
lar  employment.  Very  opportune  for  my  plans 
was  the  discovery  of  the  "  Salmon  River  mines." 
Quite  a  nnmber  of  neighbors  were  eager  to  form 
a  company  and  go  together  over  the  plains.  Some 
time  in  March,  I  think  it  was,  that  three  four-horse 
wagons,  covered  with  white  canvas,  filed  through 
the  streets  of  Ripon,  each  having  a  complement  of 
four  men,  all  well  known  and  substantial  citizens, 
and  bound  for  the  Pacific  coast.  A  large  crowd 
gathered  around  us  to  bid  us  good-bye  and  pour 
upon  us  showers  of  good  wishes  and  hopes  of  suc 
cess  and  a  safe  return.  Some  one  of  the  crowd 
wrote  in  large  letters  on  the  wagon  I  was  in, 

(233) 


234  ACROSS   THE   PLAINS   TO   OREGON. 

"  Capt.  Bristol's  Train."  I  don't  know  who  it  was, 
but  our  good-natured  company  of  twelve  accepted 
the  suggestion,  and  so  called  me  Captain  after  that. 
My  messmates  were  Deacon  Bainan,  McKinnon, 
and  Principal  Walcott,  the  latter  long  time  the 
head  of  the  Ripon  Academy  and  embryo  college. 
Our  course  from  Ripon  to  the  great  midland 
plains  was  via  Madison,  Galena,  Des  Moines  and 
Omaha. 

At  Council  Bluffs  we  laid  in  our  supplies  for  a 
journey  of  two  thousand  miles,  and  which  was  to 
occupy  the  following  six  months  and  more.  From 
Omaha  we  proceeded  up  the  Platte  River,  on  the 
north  side.  Several  other  emigrant  teams  falling 
in  with  us  we  Organized  a  company.  I  was  unani 
mously  chosen  Captain.  I  did  not  relish  the  office, 
on  account  of  its  care  and  responsibility,  for  I 
wanted  rest  and  freedom  from  care ;  but  I  accept 
ed,  chiefly  because  it  would  enable  me  to  secure 
the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath. 

Encamping  on  the  Loup  Fork  one  evening  we 
heard  a  din  of  doleful  voices,  proceeding  from  the 
tepees,  or  tents  of  buffalo  hides,  occupied  by  a 
band  of  Pawnees  near  by.  Our  sympathies  were 
excited,  and  a  man  and  I  went  over  to  see  what 
was  the  matter.  Some  of  them  could  talk  English  * 
and  they  told  us  with  artless  simplicity,  how  that 
some  weeks  before  they  heard  that  a  band  of  adja 
cent  Sioux  Indians  had  gone  on  a  buffalo  hunt, 
leaving  large  numbers  of  ponies,  their  wives  and 
children,  in  a  defenceless  condition.  This  was  too 


ACROSS   THE   PLAINS   TO   OREGON.  235 

good  an  opportunity  to  rob  and  to  kill  to  be  neg 
lected  ;  so  a  band  of  their  young  braves,  like  young 
eagles,  made  haste  for  the  prey.  Alas  for  Indian 
sagacity  and  rapacity  in  this  case !  The  young 
Pawnees  met  the  Sioux  on  the  border,  were  de 
feated,  some  of  them  slain,  and  the  remainder  put 
to  ignominious  flight !  Hence  these  tears,  these 
ululations  which  had  aroused  our  pity.  My  com 
panion  and  I  went  back  to  our  camp  much  less  in 
clined  to  weep  than  when  on  our  way  to  visit  them. 
Years  afterward — some  eight  or  ten — when  Miss 
"  Bright  Eyes,"  the  Pawnee  Indian  girl,  was  mov 
ing  Boston  audiences  by  her  tales  of  wrongs  done 
by  white  people  to  long-suffering  Pawnees  and 
other  Indian  tribes,  this  scene  came  up  very  vivid 
ly  before  me. 

FROM  FORT  LARAMIE  TO  FORT  HALL. 

Arrived  at  Fort  Laramie  I  resigned  my  cap 
taincy  and  another  was  chosen  ;  but  after  two  days 
of  service  my  successor  resigned  and  I  was  re-elect 
ed.  Leaving  the  Platte,  we  went  up  the  Sweet- 
water.  On  our  way  we  were  met  by  fugitives 
fleeing  toward  the  settlements  from  Indian  raids 
all  along  the  overland  stage  route.  They  had 
stopped  the  stages,  killed  passengers  and  drivers, 
robbed  and  burned  the  stations,  and  had  driven  off 
the  relays  of  horses  and  mules.  We  met  soldiers 
rushing  away  in  fear,  and  their  officers  command 
ed  us  to  retreat  also.  We  heard  their  stories  and 
went  on.  One  day  we  came  up  with  a  fine-looking 


236  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

train,  whose  animals,  like  ours,  were  nearly  all 
horses  or  mules,  and  which  traveled  at  about  the 
same  gait.  We  camped  together  that  night  beside 
a  small  lake.  There  was  a  proposition  to  join 
forces.  The  captains  of  both  trains  resigned,  and 
the  companies  resolved  to  become  one  train  and  to 
choose  a  captain.  I  was  again  re-elected,  almost 
Unanimously.  I  made  them  a  brief  address  in 
which  I  outlined  my  policy  as  to  guarding  stock, 
compactness  in  traveling,  defense  of  the  corral, 
settlements  of  quarrels,  treatment  of  friendly  In 
dians,  and  keeping  the  Sabbath.  It  apparently 
gave  good  satisfaction,  and  if  any  hesitated  in  as 
senting  to  the  new  regime,  they  were  quite  won 
over  the  next  day,  when  they  saw  me  take  a  horse, 
about  mid-afternoon,  and  riding  ahead  out  of  sight, 
select  a  fine  camp,  where  was  water  and  grass,  and 
a  good  place  for  defence. 

This  was  my  usual  custom,  and  I  generally 
went  alone.  The  danger  was  often  great,  and  I 
feared  to  send  another,  who  might  not  be  as  good 
a  shot  as  myself,  or  as  quick  to  discover  danger 
and  avoid  it.  My  company  used  to  congratulate 
themselves  on  the  excellent  camps  I  selected. 
These  were  in  striking  contrast  with  those  of  other 
trains,  which  often  tied  up  to  the  sage  bushes,  with 
no  water  or  grass  for  the  stock,  their  captains,  none 
of  them,  daring  to  take  the  risks  I  ran  daily.  One 
evening,  not  twenty  rods  from  our  camp,  I  found 
a  fresh  dug  grave  !  A  rough  board  at  its  head  in 
formed  us  that  there  the  Indians  had  attacked 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS   TO   OREGON.  237 

their  train,  killed  several,  and  that  two  women  and 
their  children  had  been  captured  and  carried  off ! 
This  sad  writing  was  dated  the  day  before !  Our 
men  rested  uneasily  that  night.  Few  of  us  slept. 
We  were  thinking  of  the  sad  fate  of  those  wives  and 
children  ! 

The  Fourth  of  July  we  were  at  Fort  Bridger, 
near  the  source  of  the  Sweetwater.  Our  boys 
celebrated  the  day  by  throwing  snowballs  at  each 
other  from  a  bank  of  snow  on  the  slope.  I  called 
on  Capt.  Bridger,  the  first  officer  of  the  Fort,  and 
consulted  him  about  our  route  to  Fort  Hall.  At 
first  he  said,  "  Don't  go ;  the  Indians  are  bad." 
Seeing  I  was  bent  on  going,  he  asked,  "  How  many 
men  have  you  ?"  I  replied,  "  Sixty  or  seventy." 
Eyeing  me  sharply,  he  asked  with  emphasis, 
"  How  many  MEN  have  you?"  I  saw  his  meaning 
and  replied,  "  I  think  some  twenty-five  or  thirty 
will  fight  to  the  death."  "  Well,"  said  he,  "if  you 
are  correct  you  can  go  through."  Taking  down 
his  maps  and  charts  he  traced  out  our  course  to 
the  "  Lauder's  Cut-off"  trail,  and  thence  to  Fort 
Hall,  adding,  as  he  pointed  to  this  place  and  that 
on  the  route,  "  Take  care  there  /  I  had  a  battle  at 
that  place  and  lost  so  many,  or  killed  so  many ; 
and  there  1  was  waylaid  and  attacked  by  so  many 
hostiles."  The  old  Indian  warrior  was  delighted 
to  see  men  of  pluck. 

THE   SOUTH    PASS. 

Following  up  the  Sweetwater  to  its  sources 
we  entered  the  celebrated  South  Pass,  the  gateway 


238  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

through  the  Rocky  Mountains,  We  had  been 
looking  forward  to  this  pass,  and  our  journey 
through  it,  as  an  event  in  travel  never  to  be  forgotr 
ten.  Well,  we  entered  it,  and  were  nearly  through 
it  before  any  of  us  were  aware  of  it !  True  it  was, 
the  streams  we  crossed  no  more  flowed  eastward, 
but  west ;  but  the  significance  of  that  fact  had  not 
been  appreciated,  and  we  little  knew  that  we  were 
passing  into  a  new  order  of  things.  The  Sweet- 
water  we  had  just  left  we  were  to  see  no  more  • 
Its  waters  would  flow  into  the  Platte,  the  Platte 
into  the  Missouri,  the  Missouri  into  the  Mississippi, 
the  Mississippi  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  that  into 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  !  On  the  other  hand,  these  west 
ward-flowing  brooks  would  flow  into  Green  River, 
Green  River  into  the  Colorado,  the  Colorado  into 
the  Gulf  of  California,  and  that  into  the  Pacific ! 
How  near  their  beginnings ;  how  wide  apart  their 
destination  !  The  South  Pass,  instead  of  being  a 
narrow  gateway  between  lofty  cliffs,  crowding  upon 
us  from  either  side,  was  a  plain  wide  enough  for  vast 
armies  to  pass  through — a  highway  for  nations,  I 
judge  it  to  be,  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  wide ;  and 
but  for  some  one  to  tell  them,  not  one  in  ten  of  our 
company  would  have  dreamed  of  the  passage  till  it 
was  over!  Even  so  do  most  of  our  race  pass 
through  the  great  moral  crises  of  life,  which  de 
termine  their  everlasting  future,  quite  unaware  of 
it  at  the  time  ! 

Descending    gradually     westward,    we    came 
down  upon  the   east  branch  of   Green  River.     It 


ACROSS   THE   PLAINS   TO   OREGON.  239 

was  about  the  I2th  of  July,  and  this  river  over 
flowed  all  its  banks.  It  was,  where  we  struck  it, 
from  twenty-five  to  fifty  rods  wide.  It  was  too 
deep  to  be  forded  ;  the  current  was  swift,  and  the 
waters  very  cold.  All  around  us  were  snowclad 
peaks,  and  we  passed  over  drifts  in  valleys  perhaps 
twenty  feet  deep.  How  should  we  cross  this  river  ? 
Our  plan  was  quickly  formed  and  executed  too. 
I  selected  a  committee  of  experts,  examined  all  our 
wagon-beds,  selected  two  of  the  tightest  and  best 
made,  took  them  off  the  axles,  caulked  them  as 
tight  as  possible,  and  otherwise  made  them  fit  for 
boating,  and  put  them  into  the  water.  The  next 
morning  they  were  soaked  tight.  We  crossed  the 
river  with  the  earliest  light,  and  the  landing  place 
was  selected.  A  wagon  was  taken  in  pieces  and 
put  in  one  boat,  and  its  baggage  put  in  the  other, 
and  rowed  over.  Men  were  there  to  put  it  up  by 
the  time  another  could  cross  ;  and  so  it  came  to 
pass  that  nearly  forty  wagons  were  taken  over 
that  day.  The  horses  were  forced  into  the  cold 
river  and  obliged  to  swim  over.  The  next  day  we 
were  on  our  way.  At  the  second  branch  we  found 
a  ferry  boat.  I  bought  it,  took  my  train  over,  and 
sold  it  for  five  dollars  less  to  the  train  behind. 

AN  EFFORT  TO   BREAK    UP    OUR   SABBATH-KEEPING 
CUSTOM. 

There  was  a  man  from  Iowa,  a  Dr.  Jones,  who 
had  fallen  into  our  company  on  the  way,  who  dis 
liked  Sabbath  keeping  and  all  religion.  He  was  a 


240  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

restless,  nervous,  Democratic  politician  of  the 
Vallandigham  stripe,  opposed  to  Lincoln,  to  aboli 
tion  and  the  war,  and  was  intensely  dissatisfied 
with  the  Republicans  of  Iowa.  The  reason  for 
leaving  his  own  train  and  joining  ours  was,  I  be 
lieve,  the  better  time  we  were  making,  the  better 
camps,  and  better  discipline  and  order  maintained. 
Soon  after  joining  us  he  began  to  vent  his  spleen 
against  the  Abolitionists  and  the  "  Puritan  captain ;" 
but  he  made  no  sensible  progress  till  we  reached 
the  third  fork  of  Green  River.  Coming  to  it 
Saturday  night,  we  camped  there  for  the  Sabbath. 
Mosquitoes  swarmed  in  all  the  air,  and  we  all  suf 
fered  more  or  less  from  them.  This  was  a  devil- 
send  to  him,  and  he  improved  it.  From  Sabbath 
morn  till  Sabbath  noon  he  went  from  tent  to  tent, 
bearing  a  petition  to  the  Captain  to  lift  our  tents 
and  move  out  of  this  horrible  place.  By  noon  he 
had  got  a  large  majority  of  the  names  affixed  to  his 
petition,  and  came  bringing  it  to  me.  I  called  a 
meeting  and  all  came  together.  Dr.  Jones  read 
his  petition  and  made  a  speech,  and  closed  by  say 
ing  we  had  to  go  only  six  miles  to  get  rid  of  the 
pests,  and  triumphantly  introduced  a  man  who  had 
been  over  into  a  nook  in  the  mountains  six  miles 
off,  on  our  route,  and  he  saw  no  mosquitoes  there  ! 

Of  course  I  knew  the  main  object  was  to  get 
us  to  break  the  Sabbath  that  day,  and  then  make  it 
a  precedent  for  Sabbath  traveling  ever  after.  I 
answered  him  saying  I  was  ever  ready  to  travel 
on  the  Sabbath  when  necessity  required  it.  The 


A    NIGHT   WITH   THREE   ROBBERS       (See page 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  OREGON.     24! 

mosquitoes  were  very  bad,  I  knew,  but  there  was 
no  prospect  of  bettering  our  condition  in  that  re 
spect  by  going  over  yonder.  I  then  turned  to  his 
witness  and  asked,  "  Are  you  not  the  man.  who 
about  eight  o'clock  went  up  yonder  hill  with  a 
rifle  ?"  "  Yes."  "  Did  you  not  go  along  the  skirts 
of  yonder  hills?"  "Yes."  "Well,  sir,  I  was 
where  I  could  see  you  till  your  return  down  yon 
der  divide.  You  never  went  over  to  the  nook  in  the 
mountains  the  Doctor  speaks  off  You  did  not  go 
two  miles  from  camp."  "Well,"  said  he,  "  I  could 
look  over  there,  and  I  did  not  see  any  !"  "  Could 
not  see  any  !  That  valley  is  six  miles  off;  and  did 
you  suppose  there  were  none  because  you  could 
not  see  them  four  miles  off?r  An  outburst  of  laugh 
ter  followed.  Dr.  Jones  called  for  a  vote.  As  I 
was  about  to  put  it,  some  one  said,  "  If  we  vote  to 
roll  out,  I  suppose  you  will  go  along  with  us, 
Captain?"  "Oh,  no,"  said  I.  "I  don't  go  when 
the  reason  for  this  action  is  so  transparent." 
There  was  a  sensation,  a  rapid  exchange  of  words, 
such  as,  "  Then  I  wont  go,"  and,  "  I  wont,"  and, 
"  That  alters  the  case,"  when  one  said,  "  I  move 
this  matter  be  indefinitely  postponed,"  and  that 
vote  was  carried  almost  unanimously,  and  that  was 
the  last  attempt  to  induce  our  train,  like  the  others, 
to  travel  on  the  Lord's  Day. 

SIX    RETURNING  MINERS  KILLED. 

One  evening  we  were  met  by  eight  miners  re 
turning  homeward  to  the  States.     Each  had  two 

16 


242  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

mules  ;  one  he  rode,  the  other  carried  his  clothes, 
provisions,  blankets,  and  perhaps  his  gold.  We 
invited  them  to  share  the  hospitalities  of  our  camp. 
They  staid  with  us  over  night  and  gave  us  much 
valuable  information,  as  to  our  route  and  the 
mines.  They  were  fine  fellows.  They  left  us 
early  the  next  morning.  As  my  train  was  about 
to  start,  I  took  my  station  as  usual  some  distance 
ahead,  holding  the  foremost  back  till  the  last  wag 
on  was  in  line,  for  I  never  allowed  my  train  to 
stretch  out  in  unreasonable  length.  Hence  no  strag- 
lers  were  captured  from  our  train.  While  wait 
ing  and  looking  over  the  adjacent  hills,  I  dis 
covered  the  upper  half  of  an  Indian's  head  looking 
down  upon  us.  Looking  steadily  at  it,  it  slowly 
sunk  down  like  that  of  a  partridge  till  it  was  out 
of  sight.  I  knew  what  was  up.  So  bidding  the 
train  move  on,  I  stood  still,  gun  in  hand,  and  as 
each  wagon  passed  me  I  called  out  one  of  its 
armed  men  and  when  the  last  went  by,  I  had 
about  forty  at  my  side.  The  Indians  finding  they 
were  discovered  soon  appeared  on  their  ponies  and 
rode  back  and  forth  on  the  hillside  at  the  top  of 
their  speed.  They  made  threatening  gestures  but 
were  careful  to  keep  out  of  reach  of  our  rifle  balls. 
They  ransacked  our  camp  ground  for  plunder, 
and  the  last  we  saw  of  them  they  were  taking 
our  back  track,  and  making  haste  to  overtake  the 
eight  miners  who  had  left  us  half  an  hour  before. 
We  knew  they  would  be  overtaken,  and  probably 
all  be  slain ! 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS  TO   OREGON.  243 

And  so  it  proved  in  the  case  of  all  but  two, 
and  they  lost  everything  but  life.  Some  half  a 
dozen  miles  distant  they  were  overtaken.  Seeing 
some  thirty  or  forty  Indians  in  hot  pursuit,  the 
miners  dismounted  and  standing  behind  their 
animals  fought  like  heroes  for  two  or  three  hours, 
till  six  of  the  eight  were  killed,  and  I  believe  all 
their  animals.  One  of  them,  a  Mr.  Parmelee  from 
Illinois,  when  dying  said  to  his  comrade,  "Tom, 
I  am  dying.  Load  my  rifle  for  me,  and  level  it 
across  my  dead  mule.  Then  run  and  save  your 
self.  May  be  the  Indians  will  rush  up  for  booty, 
and  I  can  kill  one  more  of  these  robbers  before  I 
die  !  "  Tom  did  so,  and  as  he  was  running  through 
the  sage  brush,  he  heard  the  crack  of  the  well 
known  rifle  and  looking  back  he  saw  consternation 
among  the  Indians,  and  concluded  Parmelee  had 
been  as  good  as  his  word. 

While  this  unequal  battle  was  going  on,  there 
came  upon  the  scene  a  train  of  from  thirty  to  fifty 
men.  They  rushed  to  the  top  of  a  hill  near  by, 
corraled,  and  looked  on  and  never  lifted  a  finger 
to  help  the  beleaguered  miners !  "  A  sally  of  half 
a  dozen  of  them,"  said  Johnson,  one  of  the  escaped 
men  to  me,  "would  have  saved  most  of  us."  What  a 
crime  it  is  sometimes  to  yield  to  coward  fear ! 
"And  the  fearful,"  etc.,  "shall  have  their  part  in  the 
lake  of  fire,  etc."  I  will  add,  that  no  sooner  was 
this  disgraceful  cowardice  known  abroad  than  the 
burst  of  indignation  was  such  all  along  the  line, 
that  the  said  train  broke  up  and  its  members  made 
haste  to  hide  themselves  in  other  trains. 


244  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

A   STAMPEDE. 

Just  before  reaching  Fort  Hall,  we  overtook  a 
train  and  camped  near  by  it.  It  was  Saturday 
evening  and  I  invited  them  to  stay  with  us  over 
Sabbath  and  attend  the  preaching  service,  which 
I  held  in  our  corral  every  Sabbath.  They  partly 
agreed  to  do  so.  But  when  the  morning  came, 
they  moved  on  as  usual.  They  had  not  proceeded 
far,  before  an  unaccountable  panic  seized  upon 
nearly  every  animal  in  the  train.  It  was  the  noted 
"  stampede"  so  often  spoken  of  by  travelers  in  con 
nection  with  migrations  across  the  Western  plains. 
To  describe  one,  is  to  describe  all. 

That  Sabbath  morning  was  one  of  unusual 
quiet.  Scarce  a  leaf  was  disturbed  by  the  breeze. 
The  path  skirted  along  the  border  of  a  marsh,  in 
the  center  of  which  was  a  shallow  lake.  The 
teams  were  mainly  made  up  of  several  yoke  of 
oxen  and  cows.  They  were  nearly  all  lame  and 
footsore  and  lean  too,  from  incessant  travel  over 
a  thousand  miles  of  desert.  Tired  out  and  stupid, 
they  little  cared  for  the  crack  of  the  resounding 
bull-whip,  or  the  sharp  goad  carried  by  some  of 
the  drivers;  mechanically  they  moved  on  with  slow 
and  measured  step,  as  if  all  sensibility  and  life  had 
departed  from  them  ! 

In  an  instant  all  this  was  changed  !  An  uncon 
trollable  frenzy  had  seized  every  animal  in  the 
train.  His  dull  eye  now  glared  like  afire  ball  and 
protruded  from  its  socket !  With  a  moan  which 
ran  over  all  the  notes,  and  lugubrious  and  startling 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS  TO   OREGON.  245 

beyond  description,  the  poor  creatures  leaped 
into  the  air,  and  rushed  headlong  and  reckless  to 
right  or  left  against  trees  or  rocks.  In  some  cases 
the  leaders  vaulted  into  covered  wagons  filled 
with  women  and  children,  and  others  became 
hopelessly  wedged  together.  And  the  din  of 
crushing  wagons,  the  looing  of  the  frantic  beasts, 
the  shrieks  of  women  and  children,  the  crack  of 
th6  whip,  and  the  oaths  of  the  excited  drivers  con- 
bined  to  create  a  scene  wild  beyond  description. 
In  this  case,  in  addition  to  the  wounded,  one 
woman  and  a  child  were  killed  outright,  and  \ve 
passed  their  fresh  dug  graves  on  Monday  morn 
ing.  The  cause  of  the  stampede,  who  can  tell  ! 
It  reminds  the  looker-on  of  a  scene  described  in  the 
New  Testament,  which  occurred  in  Gadara,  where 
"the  devils  entering  the  herd  of  swine,  threw 
them  headlong  down  the  steep  and  they  perished 
in  the  waters."  But  I  take  it,  that  at  first  the 
smell  of  blood,  or  something  like  it,  excites  one 
animal  to  utter  his  startling  moan.  This  excites 
all  the  rest,  and  they  moan  also,  and  the  bedlam 
of  these  wild  bellowings  does  all  the  rest,  for  it  is 
enough  to  waken  the  dead  and  kill  the  living. 

FORT  HALL  AND  CROSSING  THE  PORTENEUF. 

At  length  we  reached  Fort  Hall,  which  is  no 
fort,  and  never  was,  in  any  American  sense.  It 
used  to  be  a  French  or  English  trading  post 
simply.  Here  we  first  came  upon  the  Snake 
River,  the  great  southern  fork  of  the  Columbia.  A 


246  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

dozen  miles  west  of  it  the  trail  crosses  a  deep  but 
sluggish  stream  called  the  Porteneuf.  There  was 
no  way  of  crossing  except  by  a  small  ferry 
boat.  Between  this  ferry  and  Fort  Hall  lay 
scattered  along  the  trail  perhaps  a  dozen  trains, 
waiting  their  turn  to  be  ferried  across.  None  of 
them  lifted  a  finger  to  help  the  wornout  ferry 
men  who  had  been  working  night  and  day  for 
weeks,  but  lounged  about,  played  ball  or  cards, 
drank  whiskey,  etc.  I  rode  forward  to  the  ferry 
man  to  learn  when  we  could  cross  over.  He  was 
cross  as  a  bear  and  hardly  gave  me  a  civil  answer. 
"  Somewhere  from  a  week  to  ten  days,"  was  all 
I  could  get  out  of  him.  Seeing  how  it  was,  I 
resolved  on  a  little  strategy.  Riding  back  I  ordered 
the  train  to  hitch  up  and  follow  me.  Passing  one 
camp  after  another  each  called  out,  "  No  use  in 
going  ahead,  you  can't  cross  till  we  do.  We  are 
booked  before  you  ! " 

But  we  went  on  till  we  reached  the  river  and 
camped  hard  by  the  ferry.  The  horses  put  to 
pasture,  I  took  half  a  dozen  of  my  most  robust 
and  willing  men  and  we  went  down  to  the  ferry. 
We  watched  the  ways  of  managing  the  boat, 
the  putting  on  and  off  freight,  wagons  and  horses, 
and  when  we  thought  we  "  knew  the  ropes,"  I 
stepped  aboard  and  said,  "  Captain  !  take  a  rest,  you 
and  your  men  ;  let  us  try  our  hand  a  turn.  Give 
your  orders,  Captain,  and  we  will  do  the  work." 
They  lay  down,  poor  wearied  men,  and  we  went 
at  the  work  with  a  will.  How  the  boat  spun 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  OREGON.     247 

through  the  water.  How  quickly  the  wagons 
were  trundled  on  board,  and  the  quick  trips  made 
them  stare!  The  captain's  rigid  face  began  to 
relax.  He  inquired  what  was  the  name  of  my 
train  and  when  told,  asked,  "And  is  that  the 
abolition  train  so  much  spoken  against  ?  "  I  said 
"Very  likely.  We  are  all  free  men  ourselves  and  we 
like  to  see  others  free,  too."  "  I  see !  I  see ! "  said 
he  with  a  smile.  Taking  me  aside  he  whispered, 
"  Get  your  train  down  here  and  this  afternoon  we 
will  put  you  over."  I  did  so,  and  before  dark, 
my  whole  train  was  over  and  ready  to  start  out 
the  next  morning.  "  That  is  the  finest  company  of 
men  and  horses,"  said  the  captain,  "  which  has 
crossed  the  river  this  season,"  and  when  I  asked 
him  to  count  our  wagons  he  refused  and  left  it  all 
to  me.  Thus  by  this  manceuver  we  saved  a  week's 
delay  at  least.  There  is  nothing  lost,  in  the  long 
run,  by  being  generous  and  helpful  to  men  in  need, 
even  if  they  are  strangers  and  we  never  expect  to 
meet  them  again. 

DOWN    THE    SNAKE    RIVER. 

The  Snake  River  is  tortuous  as  a  snake's  path 
in  its  course,  and  hence  its  name.  It  runs  through 
a  vast  sage  brush  plain  so  destitute  of  forage  and 
trees  that  scarce  a  Jack  rabbit  can  find  pasture 
and  where  a  sage  hen  is  rarely  seen.  In  journey 
ing  down  it  on  the  south  and  west  side  we  could 
only  find  feed  for  our  hungry  animals  once  in 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  when  we  came  to  small 


248  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

creeks  on  their  way  to  the  river.  No  buffalo  or 
wild  horses  are  found  here.  Now  and  then  a  deer 
or  antelope  is  seen  and  half-starved  wolves  in  hot 
pursuit.  At  one  of  these  creeks  our  train  and 
another  spent  a  couple  of  days.  I  went  some 
distance  down  the  brook,  fishing  for  trout.  A  one- 
armed  man  not  of  my  company  went  along,  too, 
and  went  farther  than  I  did.  That  night  he  did 
not  come  back !  The  next  day  his  brother  and 
some  others  went  after  him.  They  found  his 
tracks  and  those  of  Indians,  too,  and  saw  where 
they  had  captured  him  and  led  him  to  the  Snake 
River,  where  they  crossed  over,  and  they  had  to 
give  him  up !  Poor  one  armed  traveler  over  the 
plains!  He  was  never  heard  of  afterward.  "The 
Indian  knows  his  resting  place !  " 

A  SWARM  OF  WINGED  ANTS. 

Not  far  from  this  stream,  Goose  Crev,k,  we 
encountered  a  great  cloud  of  winged  ants.  Several 
of  us  were  on  horseback  just  ahead  of  the  train, 
when  we  saw  beyond  us,  and  stretching  across 
our  path,  what  seemed  a  layer  of  mist  or  a  foggy 
wreath.  It  was  perhaps  forty  rods  long,  thirty 
feet  in  height,  and  perhaps  ten  rods  through. 
What  could  it  be  ?  Was  it  dust  or  fog  or  smoke  ? 
While  we  were  philosophizing  we  came  against 
it,  or  it  struck  us,  and  then  we  knew.  It  was 
a  cloud  of  flying  ants.  As  they  swept  against 
us  the  whole  train  stopped.  The  horses  snorted, 
thrust  their  noses  down  between  their  knees  to 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS   TO   OREGON.  249 

brush  them  from  their  nostrils.  Hundreds  dashed 
against  my  face  at  a  time.  We  could  not  open  an 
eye  nor  see  an  inch  before  us.  The  air  was  hot 
and  sickening.  We  plied  our  whips  and  spurs  to 
our  crazy  horses,  and  holding  our  breath  dashed 
headlong  forward  some  ten  or  twelve  rods,  when 
we  were  through  them.  Had  that  swarm  been  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  thick,  I  suspect  nearly  every 
man  and  horse  would  have  died.  To  say  nothing 
about  their  picking  our  bones,  we  could  not  have 
endured  that  hot  and  intensely  ant-scented  air.  The 
heat,  I  supposed,  was  from  their  breath  and  the 
warmth  of  their  bodies.  Whether  such  swarms  of 
flying  ants  are  common  in  this  part  of  the  plain  I 
know  not.  I  think  I  once  read  an  account  of 
something  like  this,  just  where,  I  cannot  at  this 
moment  call  to  mind.  But  it  made  me  think  of 
the  swarms  of  flies  which  filled  all  the  air  of 
Egypt,  and  appreciate  the  plague  as  never  before. 

A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE. 

"The  course  of  true  love  does  not  always  run 
smooth."  This  was  illustrated  in  my  train  one 
morning  near  this  time.  It  shows  also  the  stern 
decision  the  chief  officer  of  a  train  is  sometimes 
obliged  to  exercise.  As  we  were  about  to  break 
camp  one  morning  two  men  came  to  me  with  the 
complaint  that  their  partner  had  refused  to  hitch 
his  horses  to  the  wagon,  was  packing  his  own 
baggage  upon  them,  and  about  to  leave  his  part 
ners  behind.  I  went  at  onge  and  personally  ar. 


250  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

rested  him  as  he  was  about  to  proceed.  He  was 
mad  and  drew  a  revolver,  but  I  had  mine  and  de 
manded  an  explanation.  From  the  testimony  it 
came  out  that  the  three  men  were  from  Beaver 
Dam,  Wis.  That  there  they  had  agreed  to  go 
to  the  mines  together.  One  was  to  furnish  the 
wagon,  another  the  supplies,  and  the  third  the 
team.  Up  to  this  time  each  had  fulfilled  his  part, 
but  here  our  man  of  the  horses  broke  his  engage- 
ment,  and  swore  he  would  leave  the  wagon  and 
proceed  with  his  horses.  I  reasoned  with  him; 
showed  him  that  as  a  man  he  should  stand  by  his 
engagement.  To  break  it  here  meant  the  death  of 
his  two  partners,  unless  others  were  more  merci 
ful  than  he.  And  finally  I  told  him  I  was  bound 
to  see  to  it  that  the  contracts  made  at  home,  so 
vital  now,  should  be  carried  out  here !  He  said  I 
had  no  legal  authority  over  him,  and  that  he 
should  do  as  he  had  a  mind  to.  I  said,  "We  shall 
see  !  Unpack  your  horses  at  once  and  hitch  them 
to  the  wagon  !"  He  raised  his  revolver  and  dared 
any  one  to  lay  a  hand  on  his  horses.  I  ordered 
every  man  to  draw  his  weapon  and  sixty  revolvers 
came  forth  quick.  "Now  stand  away  from  him  !" 
The  clicking"  of  revolvers  being  cocked,  made  one's 
hair  stand  on  end.  "Who  will  lay  a  hand  on  my 
horses?"  said  he.  "I  will,"  I  replied,  "if  no  one  else 
will.  Stop  your  threatening  and  unpack  your 
horses.  I  give  you  just  five  minutes  to  decide 
whether  you  will  do  it.  Every  man  level  his  pis 
tol  upon  him,  and  if  he  raises  his  weapon  fire  on 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO   OREGON.  251 

him !"  Instantly  he  was  covered  by  some  sixty 
pistols.  "Can  I  speak  to  Mr.  So  and  So  ?"  he  asked. 
"Yes,  but  do  your  talking  quick ;  this  train  is  not 
going  to  be  stopped  very  long  by  such  conduct  as 
this."  The  man  went  to  him.  In  a  whisper  he 
asked:  "Do  you  suppose  they  will  shoot  me  if  I 
resist?"  The  reply  was:  "Yes,  they  will  put  sixty 
balls  through  you!  They  will  do  it  sure."  These 
were  several  too  many,  and  he  threw  down  his 
weapon  in  disgust  upon  the  ground  and  unpacked 
his  horses,  and  we  helped  him  put  them  into  the 
wagon.  I  left  him  with  the  remark,  "See  to  it 
that  this  foolishness  is  not  repeated  again  in  this 
train  !"  Some  days  after  while  walking  with  him 
alone,  he  used  some  such  language  as  this: 
"Captain,  in  general,  I  think  I  am  an  average 
man,  but  every  now  and  then  the  devil  gets  into 
me  and  I  am  the  biggest  fool  out.  That  is  just  what 
I  was  the  other  day.  Now  I  want  to  ask  you,  as 
a  favor,  to  take  my  money  when  I  am  in  the 
mines,  as  fast  as  I  get  $50  and  send  it  to  my  wife 
before  I  spend  it  in  one  of  these  fits  of  folly." 
Well,  I  partly  agreed  to  do  so,  and  from  that  time 
and  for  two  years,  we  were  warm  friends.  And 
when  I  returned  some  two  years  after  I  brought 
to  Wisconsin  $200,  which  I  sent  to  his  wife  in 
Beaver  Dam. 

An  ounce  of  prompt  and  resolute  decision  is 
often  worth  a  ton  of  vacillation  and  palaver. 

MASSACRE  OF  THE  IOWA  CITY  TRAIN. 

As  we  proceeded  down  the    river,  a  terrible 


252  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

massacre  of  a  train  from  Iowa  City  was  perpe 
trated  by  these  worse  than  Bedouin  Arabs.  When 
attacked  they  were  five  or  six  miles  ahead 
of  us.  The  train  consisted  of  from  twelve  to 
twenty  wagons,  and  was  commanded  by  a  Capt. 
Adams.  He  was,  perhaps,  the  first  one  killed,  the 
Indians  coming  upon  either  side  and  killing  him 
almost  instantly.  His  wagon  arrested,  the  rest 
were  obliged  to  stop  and  an  attack  was  made 
on  every  wagon  by  some  200  hostiles.  Many  fled 
into  the  sage  brush  and  escaped.  Some  fifteen 
were  killed  or  wounded.  The  Indians  took  all  the 
horses,  from  sixty  to  seventy,  and  robbed  the 
wagons  of  all  their  valuables.  Captain  Kennedy's 
train  coming  up,  drove  the  Indians  away,  and 
picked  up  the  fugitives.  The  only  horse  saved 
was  rescued  from  an  Indian  by  one  of  my  train 
named  Hank  Humphrey,  a  powerful  man,  who 
happened  to  be  ahead  and  witnessed  the  attack. 
An  Indian  mounting  a  large  iron-gray  horse  be 
longing  to  the  train  had  some  difficulty  in  manag 
ing  him,  when  Hank  seized  the  horse  and  dis 
mounted  the  Indian,  who  ran  away. 

Hank  vaulted  upon  his  back  and  at  full  speed 
hastened  to  inform  our  train,  which  he  did  in  per 
haps  forty  minutes.  He  also  informed  Captain 
Kennedy's  train,  as  he  flew  past  it,  of  what  was  go 
ing  on. 

In  ten  minutes  my  train  was  moving  forward 
with  all  possible  speed,  and  a  company  of  sharp 
shooters  struck  off  to  the  left  to  cut  off  their  re- 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  OREGON.     253 

treat  to  the  mountains.  But  the  Kennedy  train 
really  rescued  them,  and  when  we  struck  the 
Indians'  trail  they  had  passed  and  were  beyond 
our  reach. 

Coming  back  to  the  road  just  where  the  attack 
was  made,  our  animals  were  so  tired  we  could  not 
proceed  and  had  to  stop  right  there,  though  there 
was  little  forage.  We  expected  an  attack  that 
night.  I  put  the  camp  in  order,  and,  with  Ives, 
our  famous  hunter,  stationed  ourselves  in  a  nest 
of  rocks  which  commanded  the  ravine  down 
which  they  were  expected  to  come.  We  thought 
it  quite  likely  we  should  be  killed,  but  hoped  so  to 
demoralize  them  by  vigorous  defence  of  our  castle 
as  to  save  our  train.  But  the  long  night  passed, 
and  no  attack. 

The  next  morning  was  the  Sabbath,  and  for 
once  we  hitched  up  and  drove  forward  five  miles 
to  where  there  was  grass  and  water,  and  where 
lay  our  dead  and  wounded  fellow-travelers.  We 
at  once  undertook  our  share  of  the  work  burying 
the  dead,  caring  for  the  wounded,  providing  places 
for  the  fugitives  in  the  trains,  and  furnishing  them 
with  provisions  and  clothing. 

About  noon  several  of  the  horses  of  the  robbed 
train  were  artfully  led  out  upon  a  hillside  in  full 
view  and  appeared  to  be  loose  and  feeding  at  leis 
ure.  Captain  Kennedy  came  and  proposed  we 
should  go  out  and  drive  them  in.  I  objected,  say 
ing  it  was  a  ruse  of  the  Indians  to  get  us  out  there 
to  shoot  us  from  their  ambuscades.  That  each 


254  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

horse,  no  doubt,  had  a  lasso  attached  to  his  foot, 
and  an  Indian  was  crawling  after  him  and  when 
we  came  nigh  would  shoot  us,  then  mount  and  run 
away.  But  Captain  Kennedy  would  go,  and  told 
others  Bristol  was  a  coward.  In  an  hour  or  two  he 
sent  to  me  saying  he  had  fallen  into  an  ambush,  was 
badly  wounded,  and  wished  me  to  come  to  his 
rescue.  I  did  so,  but  they  fled  at  our  approach. 
Captain  Kennedy  was  brought  off,  but  two  of  his 
men  were  left  dead  in  the  sage  brush.  I  tried  to 
find  them  but  could  not. 

Returning  I  found  we  had  twenty-one  on  hand 
killed  or  wounded.  Two  of  them  were  women. 
How  hard  it  was  for  me  to  persuade  the  wives 
of  the  men  left  in  the  field  not  to  insist  on  our 
going  back  to  recover  their  bodies,  as  in  that  case 
we  should  probably  lose  more  men.  Captain  Ken 
nedy's  wound  was  at  first  considered  mortal,  as  it 
struck  him  in  the  abdomen  and  came  out  behind, 
near  the  backbone,  and  was  supposed  to  have 
passed  through  the  intestines.  It  afterward  proved 
to  have  gone  around  in  the  muscles,  and  after  a 
week  or  so  he  was  able  to  be  carried  along. 

For  various  reasons  his  train  had  lost  all  confi 
dence  in  their  officers,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
unwarranted  confidence  in  our  train.  They  pro 
posed  to  disband  and  join  us.  I  objected,  as  it 
would  make  a  body  too  unwieldy.  At  their  earn 
est  request  we  agreed  to  keep  near  them  in  our 
travel  and  camp  by  them  for  a  time.  This  came 
from  my  going  miles  ahead  of  my  train  each  after 
noon  to  find  it. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  OREGON.      25$ 

Now  and  then  a  grumbler  would  criticise  my 
camps  and  I  had  plenty  of  friends  to  inform  me 
of  it.  But  I  took  no  notice  of  it  till  the  next  after 
noon,  when  I  would  ride  up  to  the  complainer's 
wagon,  and  calling  him  out  would  say:  "Here, 
take  this  horse  and  ride  forward  and  select  our 
camp  to-night.  I  am  tired  and  you  must  go. 
Be  careful,  select  a  good  camp,  you  know  our 
people  are  critical.  Remember  the  essentials — 
good  water,  grass,  wood,  and  a  defensible  camp. 
Now  go  ahead  and  don't  let  the  grass  grow  under 
your  horse's  feet  until  you  have  found  it."  "No, 
captain,  I  cannot  select  one.  Send  some  one  else." 
"No,  you  must  go.  A  man  who  can  criticise  a 
poor  camp  should  be  able  to  select  a  better  one. 
Go  ahead,  you  have  no  time  to  lose."  Now  it  is  not 
every  fool  who  can  select  a  good  camp,  especially 
where  few  or  none  are  to  be  found.  In  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  our  novice  and  fault  finder  made  an  ig 
nominious  blunder,  and  when  I  formed  the  corral 
and  gave  out  the  orders  for  the  night,  I  usually 
added  in  such  cases,  "The  train  is  indebted  to  Mr. 
So  and  So  for  the  selection  of  this  camp,"  and  if  a 
bad  one  he  did  not  soon  hear  the  last  of  it.  I  found 
this  a  potent  method  for  suppressing  unreasonable 
criticisms,  and  one  application  was  sufficient. 
This  was  much  better  than  an  altercation,  and  my 
company  loudly  applauded  my  course. 

THE  MIDNIGHT  ATTACK  AT  ROCK  CREEK. 

Still  following  down  the  left  bank  of  the  Snake 
River  we  came  to  Rock  Creek.  Going  ahead  of 


THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

my  train  in  search  of  a  camp  I  observed  in  the 
trail  fresh  tracks  of  Indians,  also  making  for  Rock 
Creek.  They  were  but  a  few  hours  ahead  of  us. 
I  went  cautiously  forward  till  I  came  to  it.  It  ran 
in  a  deep  canyon.  Finding  a  path  down  into  it,  I 
camped  there.  My  suspicion  of  trouble  at  hand 
led  me  to  look  over  the  ground  very  carefully  and 
determine  what  to  do  in  case  of  an  attack.  When 
the  time  came  to  set  the  guards,  I  went  to  Ives, 
our  famous  hunter,  and  said:  "Ives,  I  have  a 
place  for  you  to-night,  I  expect  an  attack  before 
morning."  "All  right,"  he  answered,  and  chose  as 
his  comrade  for  the  night  watch  one  John  Henley, 
a  young  lawyer  from  Iowa  City.  I  located  them 
and  returned  to  camp. 

About  12  o'clock  as  I  lay  half  asleep,  my  ear 
on  the  ground,  I  was  aroused  by  a  faint  cry  for 
help  coming  up  from  the  canyon.  Springing  to  my 
feet  I  seized  my  gun  and  rushed  out  to  the  guards 
who  patroled  the  corral,  and  demanded  whence 
that  cry?  The  guard  had  heard  none.  Being  at 
the  end  of  his  beat,  another  guard  came  up;  he,  too, 
had  heard  no  cry  of  distress.  I  was  sure  some 
body  was  in  trouble.  While  we  talked  another 
faint  cry  came  up  the  trail.  We  hastened  down. 
It  was  as  dark  as  Egypt,  and  one  of  the  guards 
stumbled  over  a  prostrate  body,  and  we  turned 
and  took  up  the  body  of  Henley,  the  young  law 
yer,  and  bore  it  to  camp.  Limp  it  was  and  hung 
down  heavily.  The  camp  reached,  the  doctor  was 
called  and  restoratives  were  applied.  Henley  came 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  OREGON.     257 

to  consciousness  and  told  us  he  had  been  wounded 
by  an  Indian  arrow,  and  had  come  to  tell  us  the 
Indians  were  after  the  stock.  The  great  arrow 
was  then  apparently  embedded  in  his  breast. 

It  had  penetrated  six  or  eight  thicknesses  of 
his  Oregon  blanket,  his  coat  sleeve  and  the  fleshy 
part  of  his  forearm,  had  then  gone  through  his 
coat,  vest  and  underclothes,  and  was  apparently 
deep  in  his  chest.  All  these  garments  were 
pinned  to  his  person  by  this  arrow.  The  blood 
was  slowly  oozing  out.  Leaving  him  with  the 
doctor,  and  expecting  he  would  soon  die,  I  aroused 
the  whole  camp,  set  it  in  order  for  a  fight  and 
called  out  my  sage  bush  men  and  sharpshooters. 
Oh!  how  tardily  they  came,  one  by  one.  Repeated 
calls  at  the  top  of  my  voice  scarcely  hastened  them. 
Every  second  was  a  minute  to  me !  I  wanted  to 
fly  to  the  side  of  Ives.  I  could  not  wait,  and  left 
with  half  our  number,  leaving  orders  for  the  rest 
to  follow.  We  crept  stealthily  along  the  bluff  till 
near  the  place  of  attack.  Here  along  the  cliff 
overlooking  Ives'  position,  I  located  the  men,  one 
here,  one  there,  with  orders  to  shoot  any  one  with 
out  a  hat.  Wild  Indians  never  wear  hats.  I  my 
self  crept  down  the  rocks  near  to  where  I  had 
stationed  Ives.  I  knew  if  he  discovered  me  he 
would  shoot  me  for  an  Indian,  but  I  was  so  anxious 
for  him  I  wanted  to  be  near  him  in  case  of  an 
attack.  I  had  not  long  to  wait;  a  bright  flash  of  his 
gun  burst  upon  the  dark  valley,  the  loud  report  rang 
and  reverberated  along  the  cliffs  like  a  park  of  ar- 


258  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

tillery.  Some  twenty  feet  before  him  an  Indian 
with  half-drawn  bow  stood  a  second  and  then  fell 
as  the  darkness  closed  in,  and  all  was  silence  again. 
A  few  minutes  and  the  dying  warrior  commenced 
striking  out  wildly  with  arms  and  legs;  I  could 
hear  distinctly  his  motions  and  efforts  to  rise.  By 
and  by  he  began  to  roll  over  and  then  over  again. 
After  a  time  he  reached  the  river  bank,  fell  over, 
a  loud  splash,  and  then  all  was  still  again. 

All  night  we  lay  and  watched  the  pass,  and  one 
there  was  I  know  who  not  only  watched  but 
prayed  also.  It  is  a  very  pretty  thing  to  talk  the 
soft  words  of  non-resistance  when  no  enemy  is 
nigh,  but  in  such  an  hour  as  this,  it  is  not  only 
sheer  nonsense,  but  high  treason  to  humanity  and 
God. 

As  the  first  rays  of  morning  began  to  modify 
the  darkness,  I  descried  an  Indian  on  horseback, 
swaying  back  and  forth,  trying  to  make  out  just 
where  we  were.  My  shotgun,  though  heavily 
loaded,  would  hardly  reach  him,  and  I  crawled 
back  to  where  Hank  Humphrey  lay,  and  took  him, 
with  his  rifle,  to  a  point  near  the  river,  where  we 
hoped  to  see  the  Indian.  But  he  was  gone.  While 
we  lay  there  together  in  the  sage  brush,  I  saw  what 
seemed  the  outline  of  an  Indian's  body  in  a  bunch 
of  willows.  The  strong  wind  rushing  through  the 
narrow  pass  swayed  the  willows  to  and  fro,  and  as 
they  leaned  this  way  and  that,  so  leaned  his  body. 
Some  time  I  watched  it,  when  a  sudden  gust  re 
vealed  him.  Instantly  my  gun  was  up,  but  Hank 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS  TO   OREGON.  259 

knocked  it  down,  saying,  "  Stop,  Captain,  it's  an 
ox."  A  leap  over  the  bank,  and  the  Indian  was 
out  of  sight. 

Bitterly  Hank  reproached  himself  for  this 
indiscretion,  which  had  saved  a  murderer's  life. 
I  now  called  to  Ives,  and  he  came  out  from  behind 
a  rock,  and  when  I  told  him  where  we  had  been 
since  he  sent  wounded  Henley  up  to  the  camp,  he 
replied  that  he  knew  the  Captain  was  not  far  off ; 
just  where,  he  could  not  tell.  And  when  I  told 
him  how  near  I  crawled  down  to  him,  he  trembled 
to  think  of  the  danger  ran.  Believing  that  Henley 
was  dead  by  this  time,  I  believed  I  had  a  commis 
sion  to  destroy  his  murderer.  I  asked  my  lieuten 
ant  to  go  a  little  above  and  with  some  men  cut  off 
the  retreat  of  the  Indians,  while  I  would  cross 
over  where  we  were,  and  follow  up  their  trail. 
He  objected,  saying  there  might  be  hundreds  of 
hostiles  there.  I  said,  Then  I  will  go  alone,  and 
calling  our  company  dog  I  jumped  into  the  river, 
and  following  it  up  a  dozen  rods  under  the  over 
hanging  willows,  I  found  where  the  Indians  had 
crawled  up  the  bank,  and  went  up  also,  and  pulled 
up  the  dog.  To  my  surprise,  I  found  myself  fol. 
lowed  by  two  young  men — McComb  and  Alex- 
ander  Hargrave.  They  would  not  see  me  go 
alone. 

When  out  of  the  river,  we  found  the  trail  so 
difficult  we  had  to  break  a  path  for  the  dog. 
Reaching  the  wall  on  that  side,  I  saw  the  marks 
of  a  wet  foot  on  a  rock,  which  showed  he  had 


260  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

gone  up  the  cliff  there.  I  turned  quickly  to  the 
right,  looking  on  the  ground  as  if  still  following 
the  track.  When  we  had  turned  a  corner,  and 
were  out  of  sight,  I  said : 

"  That  Indian  went  up  the  rocks  where  we  first 
came  to  the  wall.  Hargrave,  linger  here  several 
minutes,  till  McComb  and  I  can  go  up  this  ravine 
and  reach  the  top  of  the  cliff.  Then  do  you  go 
back  and  follow  the  Indian  up  the  rocks,  rout  him 
out,  and  we  will  have  him." 

But  it  took  us  longer  to  reach  the  summit  than 
Hargrave  expected,  and  he  went  back.  Our 
Indian,  seeing  him  come  back  alone,  left  his  hiding 
place.  Just  then  I  appeared  on  the  plateau.  He 
was  some  forty  rods  off,  and  could  easily  have  kept 
out  of  reach.  He  was  armed  with  a  bow  and 
arrows,  and  when  he  saw  me  he  shook  his  fists  in 
my  face,  and  ran  to  meet  me.  I,  too,  ran  to  meet 
him.  We  were  in  full  sight  of  a  hundred  men  of 
my  own  train  and  Kennedy's,  who  saw  us  running 
together  from  the  opposite  bluff,  and  set  up  a  uni 
versal  shout.  My  train  had  great  confidence  in 
my  coolness  and  marksmanship,  and,  I  think,  had 
no  fear  of  the  result,  but  wondered  that  while  he 
ran  fast  I  ran  toward  him  rather  slowly.  The 
reason  was,  I  wished  to  preserve  my  breath  and 
steadiness  of  nerve. 

Coming  within  eight  or  ten  rods,  he  turned  to 
run  from  me.  I  raised  my  gun,  and  he  began 
dodging  to  right  and  left ;  but  that  did  not  prevent 
his  receiving  sixteen  heavy  shot  in  his  back,  just 


ACROSS  THE   PLAINS  TO  OREGON.  26l 

above  the  heart.  His  weapons  fell  out  of  his 
hands;  he  staggered,  but  laid  hold  of  the  sage 
brush  with  both  his  hands  to  hold  himself  up. 
McComb  coming  up,  trembled  so  with  excitement 
that  he  had  to  rest  his  rifle  on  my  shoulder ;  but 
the  ball  flew  aside  from  the  mark.  And  now  the 
firing  began  from  the  other  side  the  river,  and  so 
thick  the  balls  flew  about  me  and  McComb  that  I 
had  to  swing  my  hat  and  order  them  to  stop. 

In  ten  minutes  fifty  men  had  crossed  the  river, 
come  over  the  bluff,  and  surrounded  the  wounded 
warrior.  They  asked  the  privilege  of  scalping 
him.  This  I  refused.  But  unknown  to  me,  they 
did  it,  and  presented  it  to  Henley,  who  survived, 
his  chest  not  having  been  mortally  pierced  by  the 
arrow.  This  Indian  was  a  monster  in  size.  His 
neck  and  shoulders  were  like  those  of  a  bullock. 
In  his  dying  moments  he  struck  a  man  and  knocked 
him  nearly  a  rod.  The  man  said  to  me,  "His  stroke 
was  like  the  kick  of  a  horse."  We  afterward 
learned  from  friendly  Indians  that  he  was  a  big 
chief  among  the  Bannocks,  that  they  regarded  him 
as  the  strongest  man  in  the  world.  That  at  Fort 
Hall  he  whipped  four  men  who  set  upon  him  at 
once.  They  also  gave  us  his  name.  I  have  for 
gotten  it,  but  it  signified  "Big  Thief.'*  As  we  left 
camp  that  morning,  Indians  rose  up  out  of  the 
sage  brush  near  our  camp  and  ran  to  where  the 
two  Indians  were  killed,  showing  that  they  had 
been  spectators  of  all  that  had  passed.  Nor  had 
we  proceeded  far  before  the  smoke  of  signal  fires 


262  THE  PIONEER   PREACHER. 

began  to  ascend  from  hilltops  in  different  directions 
around  us,  some  of  them  ten  miles  distant!  And 
then  we  knew  well  the  whole  Bannock  tribe  was 
upon  us.  Most  of  the  people  in  our  train  and 
Kennedy's  were  badly  scared.  We  saw  Indians 
on  horses  dashing  over  the  hills  at  full  speed  to 
carry  the  news  to  the  scattered  warriors.  The 
view  I  took  of  the  situation  differed  widely  from 
the  rest.  I  said,  "We  are  safer  now  than  ever. 
They  are  mad,  but  they  are  scared,  too.  Their 
invincible  chief  attacked  us  by  night  but  was  out 
witted  and  killed;  he  and  his  companion.  They 
will  hover  around  but  run  when  we  steal  through 
the  brush  to  get  at  them."  And  so  it  proved.  They 
followed  us  perhaps  200  miles  but  did  not  dare 
attack  us.  At  length  we  drew  near  Catharine 
Creek,  the  western  limit  of  the  Bannock  range. 
They  determined  there  to  make  a  stand  and  sent 
forward  a  chief  and  three  braves  to  lie  in  ambush, 
spy  out  our  camp  defences,  and  attack  us  with  their 
whole  force  by  night.  Going  forward  to  select  a 
camp  as  usual,  there  went  with  me  one  Geiger. 
Passing  through  the  willows  which  lined  the  creek, 
I  observed  fresh  footsteps  of  Indians,  and  also  a 
strong  smell  of  Indians.  With  quickened  step  I 
hurried  through  and  made  for  an  open  space  some 
twenty  rods  square  and  sat  down  in  the  middle  of 
it.  Geiger  coming  up  asked,  "What's  your  hurry, 
Captain?"  I  said  there  are  Indians  there;  I  smelt 
them  and  saw  their  fresh  tracks  also.  In  an  hour 
or  so  the  train  filed  down  the  long  hill.  Most  of 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO   OREGON.  263 

the  men,  eager  for  game,  came  rushing  on  ahead, 
gun  in  hand,  and  as  they  came  near  the  willows 
spread  out  like  a  fan.  In  doing  so  they  unwittingly 
surrounded  the  Indians,  and  seeing  them  hid  in 
the  bushes  quickly  took  them  prisoners  and  brought 
them  to  me.  While  I' was  examining  them  and 
considering  what  to  do  with  them,  we  were  startled 
by  the  sound  of  a  bugle  approaching  us  from  the 
opposite  direction.  Soon  the  advance  guard  of  a 
regiment  of  United  States  soldiers  and  cavalry 
came  filing  around  the  hills!  Hearing  of  the 
troubles  on  the  plains,  the  United  States  Govern 
ment  had  sent  out  from  Oregon  these  troops  to 
help  the  beleaguered  emigrants.  When  the  com 
manding  officer's  tent  was  pitched,  he  sent  a  squad 
of  soldiers  to  take  the  Indians  to  him.  On  the 
way  they  skipped  right  and  left,  and  all  four 
escaped.  They  soon  rejoined  their  forces  concealed 
behind  the  hills  and  told  them  that  the  game  was 
up,  there  were  too  many  of  us  now  in  the  valley 
to  be  attacked.  Their  chagrin  was  great  and  they 
came  out  upon  the  hillsides  in  full  view,  and  there 
they  ran  their  ponies  for  full  half  an  hour  and  thus 
worked  off  their  wrath  and  gave  vent  to  their  ven 
geance.  Then  they  slowly  took  the  backward 
track  and  we  saw  them  no  more. 

AN  ESCORT  ASKED  AND  DENIED. 

I  think  a  full  thousand  persons  were  camped 
upon  Catharine  Creek.  We  staid  there  a  week 
and  recruited  our  hungry  horses.  As  the  time 


264  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

drew  near  when  we  were  to  continue  our  journey, 
a  petition  was  gotten  up  for  an  escort  of  soldiers 
to  accompany  us  to  Oregon.  Nearly  every  one 
signed  it.  It  was  presented  by  an  able  committee 
and  well  argued  by  a  lawyer.  Col.  Maury,  look 
ing  over  the  long  list,  said :  "  I  don't  see  Capt. 
Bristol's  name  here  ?  "  The  lawyer  replied  that  he 
would  not  sign  it.  "  Why  not  ?  "  said  Col.  Maury. 
One  of  the  committee  said  Capt.  Bristol  was  a  man 
without  personal  fear,  and  would  run  risks  no 
sensible  man  could  approve.  The  colonel  called 
an  orderly  and  bade  him  bring  me  to  him.  When 
I  came,  he  said :  "  I  see  your  name  is  not  on  this 
petition  for  an  escort.  Will  you  let  us  hear  your 
reasons  for  not  thinking  an  escort  should  be 
granted  ? "  I  replied  my  principal  reason  was 
that  I  thought  the  trains  behind  us  would  be  in 
greater  danger  than  we.  That  his  whole  force 
would  be  needed  between  this  place  and  Fort 
Hall.  That,  if  we  would  act  the  part  of  men,  keep 
a  good  lookout,  keep  close  together  and  select 
defensible  camps,  we  would  go  through  all  right 
Besides,  if  an  escort  were  given  us,  our  men  would 
become  careless  and  lean  wholly  on  the  soldiers 
for  defence.  But  if  we  went  without  them,  we 
would  all  be  watchful,  prepared,  and  therefore  safe. 
Turning  to  one  Capt.  Crawford — the  senior  captain 
of  the  regiment — the  colonel  asked  :  "  What  do  you 
think  of  that,  Capt.  Crawford  ?  "  "  That  is  sensible, ' 
he  replied,  and  half  a  dozen  other  officers  assented 
also.  The  colonel  then  said  to  the  committee : 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  OREGON.     265 

"  The  view  presented  by  Capt.  Bristol  is  not  only 
sensible,  but  it  is  patriotic.  I  agree  with  him 
entirely,  and  if  you  will  heed  his  advice  to  rely 
on  yourselves  and  keep  close  together,  you  will 
go  through  safely.  I  cannot  give  you  an  escort." 
The  meeting  broke  up.  The  committee  went 
out  swearing  mad  and  poured  out  their  wrath 
without  measure  upon  "  Bristol's  dare-devilism 
which  had  deprived  us  of  an  escort,  and,  no  doubt, 
would  prove  the  ruin  of  us  all."  And  for  once  I 
was  thoroughly  unpopular,  even  in  my  own  train. 
I  offered  to  resign  and  have  the  train  choose  an 
other  captain.  But  no  one  seconded  my  sugges 
tion  and  no  one  seemed  to  covet  the  privilege  of 
running  the  risks  I  took  every  day  in  going  for- 
ward  and  selecting  our  camps.  When  we  reached 
Oregon  and  before,  I  believe,  all  were  glad  we 
were  not  bothered  with  the  escort  and  coerced  in 
our  camps  and  disciplined  by  them.  The  truth 
was,  I  had  no  very  exalted  opinion  of  the  fighting 
qualities  of  half  the  soldiers.  Their  method  of 
fighting  was  objectionable.  Better  ten  men  who 
can  crawl  half  a  mile  in  the  brush  to  shoot  them 
singly,  than  a  round  hundred  fighting  as  civilized 
soldiers  usually  do.  The  greatest  instance  of 
cowardice  on  the  plains,  I  can  remember,  was  that 
of  a  large  soldier,  wearing  the  United  States'  uni 
form,  who  joined  us  on  our  way.  In  a  skirmish,  a 
little  Indian,  not  weighing  much  over  a  hundred 
pounds,  chased  this  big,  tall  soldier  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  each  running  at  the  top  of  his  speed. 


266  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

At  last  the  big  soldier  jumped  into  Snake  River f 
But  the  water  was  only  about  four  feet  deep  where 
he  struck  it,  and  rising,  he  took  refuge  under  a 
shelving  rock.  No  doubt  that  little  Indian  laughs 
about  it  to  this  day,  if  he  is  alive. 

MASSACRE  OF  THE  VAN  ZANT  TRAIN. 

Pursuing  our  journey,  we  camped  one  night 
on  Castle  Creek.  About  a  mile  from  this  we  came 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  "  Van  Zant "  train,  which  a 
year  before  was  here  ambushed  and  captured  by  the 
Indians.  It  was  a  sad  sight — the  charred  remains 
of  wagons,  the  bones  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  the 
skulls  of  murdered  men  and  women !  Some  of  the 
skulls  were  perforated  with  rifle  bullets.  These 
were  scattered  about,  the  work  of  these  devils  of 
the  desert.  I  afterward  fell  in  with  one  of  the  two 
who  alone  escaped  that  massacre.  And  the  tale 
of  horror  he  told  was  frightful.  And  he  wept  like 
a  child,  as  he  narrated  to  me  how  his  lady  love 
was  slain  there.  How  she  stood  by  him  night  and 
day  through  all  the  siege  and  defence.  How  she 
loaded  guns  for  him,  encouraged  him  and  brought 
food  to  him,  till  at  last  she  fell  at  his  side,  perforated 
with  balls  and  faint  with  hunger  and  thirst  and 
loss  of  blood.  1  wish  I  could  repeat  her  dying 
words  to  him — so  brave,  so  sensible,  so  affectionate, 
even  in  death — but  they  are  gone  from  me 
The  substance  of  his  story  was  this : 
The  Van  Zant  train  was,  I  think,  made  up  in 
Illinois  and  Wisconsin.  It  consisted  mainly  of 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  OREGON.  267 

families,  who  were  en  route  for  Oregon,  and 
numbered  some  thirty-five  persons. 

At  Castle  Creek  they  were  visited  by  a  band 
of  Indians,  who  as  usual  asked  for  bread  and  meat, 
sugar,  and  what  else  they  fancied.  These  were 
promptly  given  in  the  vain  hope  of  propitiating 
their  favor.  The  next  day  the  train  had  got  but 
a  mile  from  their  camp,  when  the  same  Indians 
they  had  fed  the  night  before  surrounded  them 
and  began  to  fire  upon  them !  A  corral  was 
formed  and  such  cattle  and  horses  as  were  not 
shot  down  gathered  into  it.  The  men  lay  behind 
their  dead  animals  and  wagons,  and  tried  to  defend 
themselves.  And  this  they  did  all  that  day,  the 
women  loading  guns  and  taking  care  of  the  wound 
ed  and  the  frenzied  cattle.  All  night  they  were  held 
in  siege,  and  not  a  drop  of  water  was  to  be  had. 

The  next  day  the  battle  was  kept  up,  nearly  all 
the  cattle  were  killed,  and  all  but  half  a  dozen 
women  and  men. 

The  stench  of  the  putrefying  corpses  as  well 
as  the  awful  thirst  made  their  stay  there  impos 
sible  and  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  they 
rushed  out,  not  caring  whether  they  lived  or  died. 
One  or  two  were  killed,  but  the  savages  were  so 
intent  on  plunder,  they  could  not  stop  to  kill  the 
rest,  and  four  succeeded  in  walking  away  from 
them.  One  died  the  next  day,  and  they  ate  a  part 
of  his  body.  Another  gave  out  and  besought  the 
two  stronger  to  leave  him  and  go  forward  for 
help.  He  was  never  seen  afterward,  was  doubt- 


268  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

less  eaten  up  by  wolves.  The  two  left  followed 
along  the  trail,  living  on  reptiles,  raw  fish  and 
bark  till  they  came  to  the  settlements.  Such  was 
the  fate  of  the  "  Van  Zant  train,"  and  it  is  but  a 
specimen  of  the  heartless  cruelty  of  these  fiends  of 
the  forest. 

And  we  threw  down  the  skulls  and  bones  re 
solved,  that  if  they  got  our  skulls,  they  would  have 
to  pay  for  them  !  And  if  any  of  us  had  started  out 
on  this  trip,  with  the  soft  sentiment  that  the  white 
man  is  always  to  blame  for  these  Indian  troubles, 
their  minds  were  disabused  of  that  false  idea  by 
this  time.  Drawing  near  the  eastern  boundary 
of  Oregon,  we  were  overtaken  by  a  band  of  pros 
pecting  miners,  who  had  first  discovered  the  gold 
mines  of  Idaho,  but  were  driven  off  by  Indians. 
One  of  their  number,  a  Mr.  Grimes  from  Oregon, 
was  shot  down  by  them  while  engaged  in  digging 
for  gold.  The  rest  fled,  leaving  his  body  unburied, 
and  were  now  en  route  for  Auburn,  for  help  and 
for  supplies.  Going  up  Burnt  River,  we  met  a 
band  of  three  hundred  horses,  driven  at  headlong 
speed  by  some  Indians.  We  were  in  a  defile,  and 
I  demanded  what  they  were  doing  with  them. 
One  of  them  replied,  "  Salt  Lake ! "  "Salt  Lake  ! " 
This  was  plausible,  and  we  let  them  pass.  The 
next  day  we  found  they  had  all  been  raided  from 
the  miners  at  Auburn. 

THE  SETTLEMENTS  REACHED.— FAREWELL    SPEECH. 

Early  in  November  we  reached  Grass  Valley, 

ten  miles  from  the  town  of  Auburn,  and  were  now 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO   OREGON.  269 

quite  within  the  bounds  of  civilization.  There 
was  no  more  occasion  for  a  nightly  guard,  a  cap 
tain,  or  an  organization.  I  led  my  train  out  upon 
a  beautiful  camping  ground,  and  forming  them 
as  usual  in  a  circle  of  wagons,  I  gave  notice,  that 
at  seven  o'clock  that  evening  I  wished  all  the 
members  of  the  train  to  come  together,  as  I  pro- 
posed  then  to  resign  the  office  I  had  so  long  held, 
and  to  make  them  a  farewell  speech. 

Prompt  to  the  moment  the  camp  bell  was 
rung,  and  all  our  train  was  at  hand,  and  many 
others  with  them.  In  my  speech  I  congrat 
ulated  my  companions  on  our  arrival  at  the 
end  of  a  journey  of  over  2,000  miles,  the  greater 
part  of  it  through  a  country  destitute  of  forage 
and  other  supplies,  and  infested  with  hostile 
tribes  intent  on  robbery  and  murder.  That  now 
after  some  seven  months  of  weary  travel  by  day 
and  of  watching  by  night,  we  had  reached  a  land 
of  peace,  of  plenty  and  of  rest.  That  in  all  the 
long  journey  we  had  not  lost  a  man  or  scarcely  a 
beast.  But  we  were  all  here  to-night,  not  only 
alive,  but  all  in  good  health.  Fit  it  was  we 
should  congratulate  each  other  on  our  singular 
success  and  express  our  gratitude  to  that  Great 
Protector  who  had  watched  over  us  by  night  and 
by  day.  I  thanked  them  for  their  loyalty  to  me 
as  their  chief  officer  and  the  confidence  shown  in 
having  thrice  elected  me  to  the  office  I  held.  I 
felt  this  the  more  sensibly  since  so  far  as  I  knew 
ours  was  the  only  train  which  had  crossed  the 


THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

plains  this  year,  standing  by  their  captain  all  the 
way  through.  While  most  of  the  trains  had 
been  rent  by  serious  divisions  ours  never  had  one 
to  speak  of.  That  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me, 
and  no  doubt  ever  would  be,  to  remember  that  in 
our  long  journey  we  had  regularly  reverenced  the 
Sabbath  day,  and  tried  to  keep  it  holy.  That 
since  we  started,  in  but  one  instance  had  we 
harnessed  our  teams  on  that  day,  and  then  only 
to  travel  five  miles  to  assist  and  protect  some 
emigrants  who  had  been  attacked  and  robbed  by 
Indians  the  night  before. 

I  thanked  them  for  their  uniform  attendance 
on  such  sermons  as  I  had  been  able  to  give  them 
on  the  Lord's  day.  I  referred  to  the  pleasing  fact 
that  instead  of  falling  behind  other  trains,  on 
account  of  resting  on  the  Sabbath  day,  we  had 
out-traveled  them  all,  and  left  them  behind  us. 
That  the  weekly  rest  had  enabled  us  to  keep  our 
horses  in  good  condition,  had  been  a  source  of 
health  and  comfort  to  us  all,  and  that  this  illustrates 
what  will  prove  true  of  all  the  commandments  of 
God,  if  we  observe  them,  that  they  are  all  laid 
upon  us  in  love,  and  that  "in  keeping  them  there  is 
great  reward."  I  remarked  that  I  had  received 
compliments  from  time  to  time  from  nearly  all  of 
them  for  the  excellent  camps  I  had  selected  and 
for  wise  management  of  affairs  in  emergencies. 
That  I  thanked  them  for  such  friendly  words,  but 
I  wished  here  very  emphatically  to  say,  that 
whatever  of  success  had  attended  my  administra- 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO   OREGON.  27 1 

tion,  it  was  due  to  Him  who  has  said,  "  If  any  man 
lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who  giveth  to 
all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not."  That  every 
day  in  the  long  journey  I  had  asked  the  Lord  to 
give  me  wisdom  to  select  our  camps  and  in  all 
our  affairs  to  be  my  guide  and  helper.  That  when 
Tasked  I  believed  he  would do  so,  and  now  that  we 
are  through  and  looking  back,  I  believed  he  had 
done  so. 

Wishing  them  all  success  in  their  varied 
pursuits,  a  happy  return  to  their  families  in  due 
time,  and  a  happier  meeting  by  and  by  in  that 
better  country,  when  the  toils  of  life  are  over,  I 
tendered  my  resignation.  Rounds  of  applause 
followed.  A  lawyer  stepped  forward,  called  the 
train  to  order,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  on 
resolutions.  Congratulatory  speeches  were  made, 
and  then  the  committee  reported  a  series  of  reso 
lutions  too  complimentary  to  their  captain  to  be 
inserted  here.  As  we  were  yet  to  move  on  ten 
miles  further  to  Auburn  it  was  voted  unanimously 
that  their  captain  should  proceed  at  the  head  of 
their  train  and  corral  them  there,  which  I  did  the 
following  day.  From  this  last  encampment  we 
gradually  separated  and  went  our  several  ways, 
the  most  of  us  to  meet  no  more  till  from  our  sight 
these  heavens  and  earth  have  passed  away. 

Long  years  have  passed  since  then — twenty 
and  five  of  them — but  the  attachment  then  formed 
to  those  companions  in  tribulation  is  as  fresh  and 
strong  as  it  was  then.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to 


2/2  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

meet  several  of  them  during  a  subsequent  residence 
of  nearly  two  years  in  Idaho  and  to  share  with 
them  the  hospitalities  of  a  miner's  home.  They 
were  all  as  brothers  to  me,  nor  do  I  think  I  was 
less  to  them.  There  is  a  strange  fascination  that 
binds  us  to  the  companions  of  our  struggles  and 
sorrows.  I  remember  how  the  old  revolution 
ary  soldiers  used  to  gather  under  my  grand 
father's  roof  and  recount  with  much  zest  and  often 
with  tears  of  joy  the  marches  they  made  together, 
the  battles  they  fought,  the  sufferings  endured  and 
the  hairbreadth  escapes  they  ran.  They  told  of 
hunger  endured,  wounds  received,  rags  they 
wore,  of  cracked  and  bleeding  feet  marking  with 
gory  stains  the  frozen  sod,  as  they  marched  and 
counter-marched,  during  the  seven  years  of  war. 
O !  how  these  old  soldiers  loved  one  another ! 
Even  so  in  like  manner  our  lesser  perils  had  knit 
our  hearts  together,  and  neither  time  nor  space 
shall  quench  the  fires  which  then  were  kindled. 
Who  can  tell  but  that  in  the  endless  future  the 
sorrows  and  struggles  of  the  earthly  life  shall 
contribute  immensely  to  its  bliss? 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

OFF    FOR    IDAHO. 

Arrived  at  Auburn  I  began  at  once  to  prospect 
the  hills  and  valleys  for  mining  claims.  But  while 
I  could  find  "  the  color  "  or  small  particles  of  gold 
almost  anywhere  over  a  large  section  of  country, 
there  were  few  places  where  it  was  concentrated 
in  pay  ing  quantities. 

The  news  from  Idaho  being  favorable,  Messrs. 
Bainan  and  Walcott,  McComb  and  myself  formed 
a  company,  sold  our  cabin  and  all  we  could  spare 
and  invested  in  a  couple  of  yoke  of  oxen,  a  wagon 
and  supplies,  and  started  off  for  the  new  mining 
placer.  It  was  midwinter  and  bitterly  cold,  and 
much  we  suffered  before  we  reached  the  end  of 
our  journey,  300  miles  distant.  Once  on  our  way 
we  walked  or  ran  all  night  to  keep  from  being 
frozen  to  death,  for  we  camped  where  not  a  stick 
of  dry  wood  could  be  found  nor  other  wood  save 
green  willows  or  alder.  On  another  our  favorite 
ox  came  to  us  about  midnight,  alkalied  and  leaning 
his  head  against  me,  seemed  to  say, "  I  am  deathly 
sick,  master,  and  have  come  to  you  for  help."  In 
spite  of  all  we  could  do  he  died,  and  we  had  to 
proceed  with  a  "spike  team,"  as  the  miners  called 
it.  Reaching  the  mountain  we  managed  to  climb 

(273) 


2/4  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

over  with  our  three  oxen  and  the  forward  wheels 
of  our  wagon,  to  which  were  lashed  our  blankets 
and  a  little  food.  The  rest  of  our  provisions  we 
had  freighted  over  at  $12  per  hundred  pounds. 
The  last  three  days  our  poor  oxen  ate  nothing, 
and  when  we  butchered  them  Deacon  Bainan  said 
there  was  not  tallow  enough  in  them  all  to  grease 
one  pair  of  boots.  And  I  think  he  was  correct. 

We  located  at  Placerville,  and  at  once  com 
menced  sawing  our  lumber  by  hand.  We  had 
brought  along  a  saw  from  Auburn  for  that  purpose. 
Lumber  was  bringing,  I  think,  $30  per  hundred 
feet,  and  we  could  earn  about  $5  a  day  to  the 
hand  above  the  expense  of  living.  Flour  was  $50 
per  one  hundred  pounds.  Bacon  the  same,  and 
other  things  in  proportion.  My  partners  being 
well  settled  for  the  winter  in  a  fair  business,  I 
proposed  to  strike  out  for  myself  and  did  so. 
Went  over  to  Mores  Creek  (now  Idaho  City)  and 
formed  a  partnership  with  one  William  Henry 
from  Illinois. 

RICH  MINES  UNDER  HOUSES. 

My  partner's  cabin  was  built  on  a  bench  thirty 
rods  above  the  creek.  The  snow  was  four  feet  deep. 
There  were  twenty  other  cabins  near  us,  and  the 
difficulty  of  bringing  water  from  the  creek  led  us 
to  hire  a  man  to  dig  a  well.  At  a  depth  of  eighteen 
feet  the  well-digger  struck  the  bed  rock.  He 
found  no  water,  but  seeing  pieces  of  gold  in  his 
bucket  he  went  to  the  river  with  a  pan  full  of  dirt 


OFF  FOR  IDAHO.  2/5 

and  washed  out  $2.50  in  gold.  He  went  to  the  saloon 
and  showed  his  find.  Each  gambler  dropped  his 
cards,  paper  and  pencil  in  hand,  ran  up  the  beach 
and  posted  on  a  pine  tree,  some  such  notice  as 

this :  "  I •  claim  60  feet  west  of  this  notice  for 

mining  purposes,  etc."  Thus  in  half  an  hour  the 
whole  beach  for  half  a  mile  along  the  side  of  the 
Creek  was  taken  up  by  gamblers,  the  rest  of  us  being 
away  in  the  hills  prospecting.  All  these  claims 
were  fabulously  rich.  That  on  which  our  cabin 
was  built  was  worth  $250,000  the  day  it  was  taken 
up,  for  it  yielded  about  $500,000.  Three  brothers 
named  White  held  this  claim  and  the  one  adjoining. 
They  employed  a  force  of  seventeen  men  by  day 
and  as  many  by  night.  Their  clean-up  usually 
amounted  to  about  $2,000  a  day.  This  was,  at 
least,  $1,500  beyond  expenses.  They  took  turns 
at  superintending  the  mine,  and  while  one  was 
doing  this  the  other  two  were  sleeping,  gambling 
or  otherwise  dissipating. 

They  mined  under  our  house  till  we  had  to 
leave  it  and  it  tumbled  into  the  excavation.  They 
took  out  an  immense  sum,  but  the  last  I  heard 
of  them  they  were  all  poor.  It  is  a  saying  among 
gamblers  that  "  riches  got  by  gambling  never  abide 
long  by  the  winner." 

SETTLEMENT   OF   BOISE  VALLEY. 

The  heavy  snowfall,  some  five  feet  deep, 
impeded  all  prospecting,  and  for  a  few  days  I  had 
nothing  to  do.  So  I  betook  myself  to  figuring 


276  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

out  the  problem  of  the  next  year's  supply  of 
vagetables  and  grain  for  the  Idaho  miners.  I  had 
heard  that  the  valley  of  the  Boise  River,  some  fifty 
miles  distant,  was  warm  and  fertile  and  spent  a 
day  in  figuring  the  expense  and  profits  of  an 
expedition  there,  taking  along  our  starving  horses, 
and  cultivating  500  acres  of  land,  marketing,  etc. 
William  Henry  looked  over  my  shoulder  occasion 
ally  and,  wishing  to  have  some  fun,  went  all  over 
town  and  invited  everybody  to  come  to  our 
house  that  evening. 

Of  course  I  was  ignorant  of  all  this.  But  as 
evening  was  coming  on,  men  began  to  drop  in 
until  the  cabin  was  full,  and  I  wondered  what 
was  up.  Soon  a  dignified  man  rapped  three  times 
on  the  table  and  called  the  meeting  to  order.  All 
was  still  and  he  began  his  speech,  somewhat  as 
follows :  "  Fellow  citizens !  Our  usually  quiet 
community,  1  am  grieved  to  say,  has  of  late  be 
come  excited  and  alarmed,  by  certain  strange  and 
suspicious  actions,  by  one  of  our  citizens  from 
whom  we  had  hoped  better  things !  Not  to  be 
further  tedious,  I  will  now  call  upon  Capt.  or  Rev. 
Bristol,  to  rise  and  explain  to  this  honorable 
assembly,  the  meaning  of  certain  suspicious  papers 
known  to  be  in  his  possession,  and  to  show  the 
intent  of  formidable  arrays  of  figures  and  hiero 
glyphics  found  therein !  "  After  a  hearty  laugh, 
in  which  all  joined,  I  took  the  floor  and  explained 
the  situation.  Our  starving  mules  and  horses,  the 
high  prices  of  potatoes  and  grain,  the  probable 


OFF  FOR  IDAHO.  277 

want  of  hay  and  vegetables  in  all  the  mining  camps 
next  summer,  and  the  high  prices  we  should  have 
to  pay  for  them. 

Then  I  turned  to  Boise  Valley,  its  adaptability 
to  agriculture  and  gardening,  the  way  to  get 
there,  how  many  men  it  would  take  to  break  a 
road  through  the  snow,  and  the  horses  we  could 
take  by  so  doing,  the  saving  of  human  life  and 
money,  too,  in  Idaho  by  this  move.  When  I  was 
through  objections  were  heard  and  replied  to,  and 
by  12  o'clock  the  whole  crowd  had  been  con 
verted  to  my  views,  and  were  eager  to  start  off  the 
next  day.  But  I  persuaded  them  to  delay  a 
couple  of  days  and  get  a  good  ready. 

In  two  days  we  were  on  the  move,  some  fifty 
men  and  300  half  starved  horses,  mules  and  asses. 
The  snow  was  five  feet  on  a  level,  and  thus  we 
proceeded.  Thirty  men  went  forward  as  path 
finders  and  path-breakers  through  the  snow. 
They  followed  each  other  in  single  file,  those 
forward  floundering  along  a  few  rods,  and  then 
when  tired  out  falling  out  till  the  other  path- 
breakers  had  passed,  and  then  falling  in  again. 
Then  came  the  animals,  the  strongest  in  advance, 
and  drivers  intermingled  to  keep  them  all  in 
motion.  In  this  way  a  fine  path  was  made  for  the 
feebler  animals. 

We  made  perhaps  ten  miles  the  first  day,  and 
twenty  the  second.  The  snow  became  less  and 
less  in  depth  as  we  descended  toward  the  valley. 
On  the  third  day  toward  evening,  we  looked  down 


2?8  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

upon  the  great  valley.  Far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
no  snow  was  there!  and  grass  in  abundance  was 
everywhere !  Even  on  the  foot  hills,  tufts  o| 
rich  bunch  grass  cropping  out  of  the  snow  tempted 
our  starving  animals  to  rush  out  of  the  trail  for 
a  mouthful.  .  But  when  we  came  in  full  view  of 
the  vast  pasture  lands,  free  from  snow,  not  only 
the  men  swung  their  hats  and  cheered,  but 
our  animals,  whinnying  and  braying,  expressed 
their  joy,  and  then  ran  pell-mell  down  into 
the  valley !  Many  of  the  men  took  out  their 
knives,  cut  a  sackful  of  hay  and  carrying  it 
back  to  some  favorite  animal,  which  had  given 
out  by  the  way,  fed  it  to  him,  and  led  him  also 
into  the  valley. 

We  began  at  once  to  stake  off  claims  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  each,  for  farming  pur 
poses,  and  soon  the  whole  valley  was  largely 
taken  up  by  these  claims  for  fifteen  miles. 

THE   INDIANS   STAMPEDE   OUR   HORSES. 

No  Indians  were  in  the  valley  when  we  en 
tered  it.  We  had  been  in  it  perhaps  three  weeks, 
when  learning  that  we  were  there  they  made  a 
raid  upon  us  one  stormy  night. 

The  wind  was  howling  fiercely,  and  the  rain 
fell  in  torrents.  Near  midnight,  the  wild  neighings 
of  horses  and  braying  of  mules  was  heard  above 
the  thunder  of  the  storm,  as  they  rushed  past  us 
up  the  valley  at  the  top  of  their  speed,  as  if  a 
troop  of  devils  were  after  them.  My  own  riding 


OFF  FOR  IDAHO.  279 

horse,  tied  fast  to  a  tree  under  which  I  had  spread 
my  tent  and  was  trying  to  sleep,  fairly  bawled 
out  his  terror,  and  leaped  and  plunged  as  if  a  tiger 
was  upon  him.  I  rushed  out  gun  in  hand,  and 
succeeded  in  keeping  him  from  breaking  his  rope. 
No  doubt  an  Indian  was  at  hand,  and  scaring 
him  as  only  an  Indian  can.  But  it  was  so  dark 
I  could  not  see  an  object  five  feet  distant.  All  I 
could  do  was  to  hold  my  horse,  and  listen  to  the 
unearthly  wail  of  the  terrified  animals,  as  they 
died  away  in  the  distance.  The  next  morning  we 
found  they  had  taken  from  us  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  horses  and  mules,  not  one  of  which 
was  ever  recovered. 

A  few  of  our  company  followed  them  to  the 
crossing  of  the  Boise  River,  some  ten  miles  above, 
and  gave  up  the  pursuit.  They  passed  a  dozen  of 
dead  or  dying  horses,  which  were  not  able  to  keep 
up  with  the  rest,  and  were  shot  with  an  arrow  and 
left  to  die  a  lingering  death.  Of  course  we  put 
them  out  of  their  misery.  But  what  cared  these 
Indians  for  the  sufferings  of  a  horse  ?  Or  even  of 
a  man  ?  Their  tender  mercies  are  cruel.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  stolen  animals  were  replaced 
by  others.  The  sound  of  the  ax  and  of  falling 
trees  was  heard  all  along  the  Boise,  in  the  patches 
of  timber  which  lined  its  banks.  Houses  began  to 
show  themselves  on  every  quarter  section. 

Taking  up  a  ranch  in  the  valley,  I  became 
associated  with  Messrs.  Richie  and  Davis,  in  the 
cultivation  of  a  farm.  We  built  a  log  house  and 


280  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

a  strong  stockade,  where  nightly  we  gathered  our 
horses  and  cows,  to  save  them  from  Indian  raids. 
The  gate  opened  within  twenty  feet  of  our  door 
and  the  bars  were  pinned  to  their  posts.  We  had 
port-holes  through  which  we  could  shoot  in  case 
of  a  siege.  A  chinking  left  out  at  the  head  of  my 
bed  enabled  me  to  look  out  at  the  corral  gate  and 
to  shoot  through  it  if  necessary.  One  night  about 
twelve  o'clock  some  horses  came  running  up  to 
our  yard.  A  falling  bar  startled  me  and  I  was 
soon  out  at  the  gate,  gun  in  hand.  I  saw  an  In 
dian  crouch  behind  a  sage  bush.  Knowing  that 
he  was  armed,  1  pretended  not  to  notice  him,  but 
went  around  among  the  horses,  to  get  a  better 
sight  at  him.  But  the  wily  thief  crawled  away. 
For  half  an  hour  in  looking  for  him,  I  was  exposed 
to  instant  death  from  an  arrow.  Not  finding  him 
I  put  up  the  bar  again,  went  in  to  the  cabin  and 
lay  down.  Meantime  the  thieves  stole  up,  and 
taking  down  the  bars  noiselessly,  at  a  flap  of 
their  blankets,  all  our  horses  rushed  out  pell-mell 
together  and  started  off  at  full  speed  with  those 
of  our  neighbors  !  Quickly  I  was  out  among  them. 

But  such  was  the  dust  raised  that  I  could  see 
no  one,  and  dared  not  fire  lest  I  should  wound 
or  kill  our  own  horses  rather  than  the  Indians.  So 
they  were  soon  out  of  sight  and  hearing. 

This  time  we  lost  all  our  stock,  and  so  did 
many  of  our  neighbors.  Other  raids  they  made 
with  equal  success.  After  one  of  them  some  of 
the  settlers  followed  them,  and  after  a  battle  drew 


OFF  FOR  IDAHO.  28 1 

them  into  a  rocky  fastness,  where  they  besieged 
them  for  several  days,  but  one  night  most  of  them 
crawled  out  and  escaped;  several  of  them,  however, 
had  been  killed. 

Should  any  one  ask,  what  use  the  Indians  had 
for  so  many  horses?  I  answer,  They  ate  them! 
At  one  place  we  found  the  heads  and  bones  of 
perhaps  thirty,  which  they  had  recently  eaten. 

INDIANS  OUTWITTED. 

Two  of  the  miners  visiting  us  went  down 
the  valley  to  Snake  River  and  camped  near  a  cross 
ing.  They  saw  two  Indians  watching  them  on 
the  other  side.  They  hailed  them  and  asked  in 
Chinook  where  they  were  going.  The  Indians 
replied  by  asking  back  the  same  question  ?  The 
miners  replied,  "Going  to  steal  horses."  The  In- 
dians  said  that  was  what  they  were  going  to  do. 
Were  there  not  some  up  the  Boise  ?  Yes,  and 
fat  ones,  too,  was  the  reply.  Both  parties  cooked 
their  bacon  and  coffee,  wrapped  themselves  in  their 
blankets,  and  feet  fire  ward,  pretended  to  go  to 
sleep.  As  the  fire  light  became  dim,  the  miners 
slipped  out  of  their  blankets,  leaving  their  hats  and 
blankets  as  if  a  man  was  still  in  them,  crawled  be 
hind  some  bushes  and  waited  developments.  In 
the  light  of  the  moon,  they  saw  the  Indians  slowly 
crossing  the  river,  and  then  stealing  softly  up 
toward  the  smoldering  camp-fire,  discharged  their 
arrows  into  what  seemed  the  men  in  their  blankets. 
At  that  instant  the  miners  also  fired  !  and  there 


'  282  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

were  two  less  of  a  race  whose  principal  business 
is  to  rob  and  to  kill. 

In  spite  of  Indian  raids,  want  of  farming  im 
plements  and  seed,  we  raised  an  immense  amount 
of  produce  that  year  in  Boise  Valley.  I  and  my 
partners  planted  twenty  acres  of  potatoes.  For 
seed  potatoes,  we  had  to  send  to  Oregon,  and 
import  from  thence  2,500  pounds.  For  perhaps 
four  hundred  miles  they  were  brought  on  the 
backs  of  mules  and  horses,  and  when  they  arrived 
they  cost  us  thirty-three  cents  a  pound,  or  about 
twenty  dollars  a  bushel,  and  the  seed  for  the  twenty 
acres,  eight  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  !  We 
also  planted  corn,  melons,  etc.,  nearly  all  of  which 
were  reasonably  profitable.  Our  potato  crop  we 
sold  at  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  dollars.  Our 
hay  we  sold  at  seventy-five  dollars  a  ton.  Hay 
brought  that  year  two  hundred  dollars  a  ton,  in 
Idaho  City,  sixty  miles  distant,  and  for  months  we 
were  offering  one  hundred  dollars  a  ton  for  carry 
ing  our  hay  to  that  market. 

STEAMBOAT   SPRINGS. 

Six  miles  from  us  was  what  was  called  "Steam 
boat  Springs."  This  was  a  spring  of  boiling 
water  which  was  poured  out  of  a  crevice  or  hole 
in  a  rock,  with  such  hissing  noise  and  force,  that 
it  strikingly  reminded  us  of  a  steam  engine  blow- 
ing  off  steam. 

Some  ranch  men,  wiser  than  we  were,  saw 
how  they  could  utilize  it.  They  took  up  a  claim 


OFF  FOR  IDAHO.  283 

below  it,  and  led  forth  its  smoking  waters  into 
several  ditches,  and  through  extensive  vegetable 
gardens.  The  land  was  not  only  irrigated  but 
warmed.  The  late  frosts  were  kept  off,  and  they 
put  vegetables  into  the  market  three  weeks  earlier 
than  we  could.  So  also  in  the  fall  they  supplied 
the  market  four  weeks  longer  than  we  could. 

BUILDING  OF  FORT  BOISE. 

During  the  summer  a  regiment  of  cavalry  was 
sent  by  the  Government  from  Oregon  to  Idaho 
to  build  a  fort,  and  to  protect  the  miners  and 
farmers  there.  The  commander  of  this  force  had 
heard  of  me  from  Col.  Maury,  and  on  his  arrival 
in  Boise  Valley,  sent  for  me  to  visit  his  camp. 

He  informed  me  of  his  business,  to  build  a  tort 
large  enough  to  accommodate  a  force  of  one 
thousand  men,  and  for  this  purpose  $500,000  had 
been  made  subject  to  his  order.  It  must  be  lo 
cated  within  fifty  miles  of  the  mouth  of  the  Boise; 
it  must  be  in  a  healthy  locality,  have  good  water 
and  plenty  of  wood  and  forage.  Also,  that  there 
must  be  timber  near,  and  of  good  quality,  as  he 
would  have  to  erect  two  sawmills,  to  furnish  the 
amount  of  lumber  required  for  the  fort.  Did  I 
know  of  such  a  location  for  a  fort  ?  I  replied  that 
I  knew  of  two,  either  of  which  would  fill  the  bill. 
After  two  weeks  spent  in  looking  at  localities  rec 
ommended  by  others  he  fixed  upon  the  one  I  had 
recommended  as  most  suitable,  and  there  he  com 
menced  at  once  to  build. 


284  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

BOISE  CITY. 

The  fort  being  located  and  hundreds  of  work 
men  gathered  there,  the  necessity  for  a  town  or 
city  became  at  once  apparent.  Half  a  dozen 
officers  from  the  fort  and  several  prominent  citi 
zens  met  at  my  house  and  formed  a  town  site 
company.  There  were  seventeen  of  us  in  all.  We 
divided  the  stock  into  eighteen  shares.  Of  these 
two  shares  were  voted  to  me  and  the  other  sixteen 
shareholders  had  one  each.  I  was  the  president 
of  the  company.  We  had  our  plat  surveyed,  litho 
graphed,  and  a  copy  sent  to  each  member  of  the 
Territorial  Legislature,  then  in  session  at  Lewiston. 
We  invited  the  legislators  to  visit  us  and  agreed 
to  pay  their  expenses.  They  came  and  were  most 
hospitably  entertained;  they  were  shown  the  fine 
grounds  we  had  set  apart  for  the  legislative  and 
State  buildings,  and  when  they  went  back  they 
voted  to  make  our  city  on  paper  the  capital  of  the 
Territory.  And  to-day  Boise  City  is  the  most 
important  town  in  the  Territory.  The  govern 
mental  buildings  are  all  on  "  Capital  Square,"  the 
churches  on  "  Church  Square,'*  and  the  educational 
buildings  on  "  Schoolhouse  Block,"  and  every 
street  in  the  city  bears  the  name  we  gave  it, 
before  scarce  a  house  was  there. 

Let  no  one  think  I  became  a  millionaire  because 
I  owned  one-ninth  of  Boise  City.  I  did  not  make 
a  hundred  dollars  out  of  it.  Our  expenses  were 
large,  and  beside  this  I  gave  away  to  worthy 
persons  all  my  best  lots. 


OFF  FOR  IDAHO.  28$ 

OWYHEE    MINES. 

Among  the  rich  mining  sections  of  Idaho  were 
those  situated  on  one  of  the  branches  of  the 
Owyhee  River,  which  empties  into  the  Snake  on 
its  southwesterly  side.  They  were  discovered  by 
one  Jordan  early  in  the  summer  of  1864.  He 
was  a  brave  man,  and  possessed  of  many  fine 
qualities.  I  had  no  special  acquaintance  with  him, 
but  no  sooner  had  he  made  his  discovery,  than  he 
came  to  me  and  offered  me  an  equal  partnership 
with  him  in  his  claims,  if  I  would  go  with  him  and 
help  develop  them.  I  thanked  him  but  declined, 
on  the  ground  that  I  intended  to  leave  for  the 
States  in  the  coming  fall  or  winter.  But  he  stood 
by  me  a  whole  day  and  argued  the  case,  and  when 
he  found  I  could  not  be  persuaded,  he  went  away 
downcast  and  greatly  disappointed.  Poor  fellow, 
he  returned  to  his  claims  and  soon  after  was  killed 
by  Indians  as  he  was  looking  after  his  horses. 
Jordan  River  was  so  named  after  him,  and  not 
after  the  Jordan  of  Scripture,  as  many  suppose. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

RETURNING  HOMEWARD. — TRIP  TO  WALLA  WALLA. 

In  December,  1884,  Capt.  Hughes,  quarter 
master  of  the  fort,  was  summoned  to  report  at 
San  Francisco.  He  was  a  fine  officer  and  a 
special  friend  of  mine,  and  he  invited  me  to  share 
a  seat  with  him  in  his  carriage  as  far  as  Walla 
Walla.  Settling  up  my  affairs,  I  found  I  had 
accumulated  seven  or  eight  thousand  dollars  during 
my  stay  in  Idaho.  A  part  of  this  I  collected,  and 
a  part  was  intrusted  to  a  friend  for  future  collec 
tion  and  to  be  sent  as  fast  as  received  by  express 
to  Wisconsin.  Alas,  of  this  latter  I  received  next 
to  nothing.  For  though  collected,  my  friend 
loaned  it  for  a  few  days  to  a  merchant  in  Idaho 
City,  but  before  it  was  repaid  the  man  was  burnt 
out  and  I  lost  it  all.  Before  leaving,  the  citizens 
demanded  a  farewell  speech,  which  I  gave  them, 
and  left  with  Capt.  Hughes  and  his  escort.  A 
couple  of  weeks  or  so  brought  us  to  Walla  Walla. 

DOWN  THE  COLUMBIA. 

Boarding  a  steamer  at  Wallula,  the  river  port 
of  Walla  Walla,  we  started  down  the  Columbia 
for  Portland.  The  trip  is  full  of  startling  sensa 
tions  from  Wallula  to  the  foot  of  the  Cascades  or 

(286) 


RETURNING  HOMEWARD.  287 

lower  falls  of  the  river.  Once  taken  it  is  never 
forgotten.  First  of  all  it  is  a  great  river  and  dis 
charges  a  vast  volume  of  water  into  the  ocean. 
Then  it  is  remarkable  for  its  summer  flood — like 
"Jordan  overflowing  all  its  banks  in  time  of 
harvest" — several  months  after  the  spring  rains 
have  ceased  to  fall.  This  arises  from  the  melting 
of  the  snows  at  that  season  on  vast  mountain  ranges 
whence  this  great  river  derives  its  waters.  Re 
markable,  too,  it  is  for  the  vast  shoals  of  salmon 
which,  at  a  set  time  in  the  year,  come  up  from  un 
known  pasture  grounds  far  away  in  the  depths  of 
the  ocean,  and,  entering  its  mouth  at  Astoria, 
ascend  its  cataracts  and  rapids,  nor  stop  in  their 
mad  race  till  they  have  reached  its  sources — 1,000 
to  2,500  miles  distant. 

Not  one  in  fifty  of  its  tributaries  fails  to  receive 
great  numbers  of  these  valuable  fish.  I  have  seen 
them  so  thick  I  could  kill  them  with  a  shovel. 
They  are  the  principal  article  of  food  for  the 
Indians  over  the  vast  territory  it  drains.  While 
from  the  lower  rapids  to  Astoria  a  hundred  canner 
ies  catch  and  cure  and  send  to  distant  markets 
more  salmon  than,  perhaps,  all  other  rivers  of  the 
world  united. 

But  the  feature  of  this  river  which  especially 
startles  the  traveler  as  the  steamboat  leaves  Wal- 
lula,  is  the  headlong  speed  of  the  boat  as  it  rushes 
down  the  rapids.  I  think  the  flow  of  the  river  is 
equal  to  six  or  eight  knots  an  hour.  The  surface 
is,  much  of  it,  white  with  foam  and  broken  up  into 


288  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

unnumbered  hillocks  of  leaping  waters.  Had  I 
been  called  upon  to  give  it  a  name,  I  should  surely 
have  called  it  "  Mad  River."  But  what  made  our 
headlong  plunge  down  thereon  seem  madness  in 
tensified,  was  the  sight  of  immense  boulders  strewn 
in  uncounted  numbers  over  the  river  bed,  and 
directly  under  our  boat,  and  sometimes  so  near 
the  surface  that  it  seemed  a  miracle  that  we  did 
not  strike  them,  and  our  boat  be  dashed  in  pieces. 
We  wondered  if  the  water  had  not  moved  some  of 
them  on  a  little,  and  nearer  the  surface,  since  the 
last  trip  was  made  ?  Too  near  to  be  passed  over 
in  safety  ?  Why  not  ?  Had  not  all  these  boulders 
been  floated  or  rolled  down  to  their  present  posi 
tion,  some  of  them  from  a  hundred  miles  above  ? 
And  if  it  was  continually  moving  them  on,  what 
assurance  could  the  last  survey  give  of  present 
safety?  But  worse  than  such  conjectures  was  the 
actual  sight  of  a  reef  of  jagged  rocks  projecting 
quite  out  into  the  current  and  directly  before  us. 
We  were  running  straight  upon  it.  It  was  a 
grand  sight — the  mighty  Columbia,  rearing  twenty 
feet  high  and  leaping  like  a  mad  horse  upon  that 
barrier,  and  then  to  witness  the  recoil  as,  dashed 
into  fragments  it  fell  back  discomfited,  and  thence 
forth  pursuing  its  way,  for  a  time  at  least,  with 
much  less  of  self-confidence  and  arrogant  pride. 

But  how  about  our  boat,  laden  with  valuable 
freight,  and  a  hundred  human  beings  ?  We  are 
scarce  twenty  rods  distant  from  the  reef.  One 
minute  and  we  shall  be  upon  it !  Is  not  the  helms- 


RETURNING   HOMEWARD.  289 

man  asleep  ?  Or  more  likely  he  is  insane,  and 
bent  on  dashing  us  all  to  pieces  !  And  now  we  are 
just  upon  it,  ready  to  shriek  with  terror  or  leap 
overboard,  when  our  boat  is  uplifted  by  a  mighty 
wave  of  recoiling  waters,  and  aided  by  a  skillful 
turn  of  the  helm,  is  thrown  into  a  side  channel, 
and  the  danger  is  past ! 

Through  several  of  these  hairbreadth  escapes 
the  voyager  passes,  ere  he  reaches  the  quiet  flow 
of  the  Lower  Columbia.  Yet  so  skillful  are  the 
navigators  of  these  rapids  that  rarely  an  accident 
happens  or  a  life  is  lost.  So  dangerous  are  some 
parts  that  a  railroad  is  built  around  them,  and 
navigation  suspended.  In  one  part,  for  several 
miles,  the  water  flows  gently,  and  down  upon  the 
bottom,  several  fathoms  below  the  keel  of  our  ship, 
are  seen  large  pine  stumps,  standing  erect  as  when 
alive  and  growing.  Fremont,  I  think  it  was  (pos 
sibly  Lewis  and  Clarke),  accounted  for  this,  by  a 
landslide,  long  ago,  down  into  the  bed  of  the 
river.  The  objection  to  this  is,  had  that  been  the 
case,  the  stumps  would  be  at  all  angles,  instead  of 
all  standing  erect,  pointing  to  the  zenith,  as  when 
they  were  growing.  The  true  solution  probably 
is  that  they  are  in  place,  or  as  they  grew  in  a  deep 
valley,  and  that  a  big  landslide  below  dammed  up 
the  river  and  raised  its  waters  over  the  valley, 
killed  the  trees,  and  hence  these  stumps,  and  hence 
this  depth  of  quiet  water. 

The  lower  part  of  the  Columbia  contrasts 
widely  with  the  part  just  described.  Emerging 


THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

from  the  Cascade  ranges,  it  assumes  at  once  a  new 
character.  It  now  has  a  depth  and  gentleness  of 
flow,  and  an  amplitude  of  navigable  channel,  which 
is  the  admiration  of  all.  For  100  miles,  more 
or  less,  it  moves  on  slowly  and  majestically 
toward  the  sea,  and  when  it  reaches  Astoria  it  has 
a  breadth  of  miles  and  a  grandeur  equal  to  the  Mis 
sissippi  or  the  Hudson. 

PORTLAND. 

The  steamer  from  the  Cascades  carried  us  to 
Portland,  where  I  spent  a  couple  of  weeks.  I  was 
so  pleased  with  the  place  that  I  half  made  up  my 
mind  to  buy  a  home  and  locate  there.  In  pursu 
ance  of  this,  I  crossed  over  to  East  Portland,  on 
the  other  side  the  Willamette,  to  look  at  some 
places  for  sale  there.  One  was  shown  me  of  160 
acres,  with  a  fair  sized  two-story  house  and  out 
buildings,  for  some  less  than  $3,000.  I  concluded 
I  would  buy  it,  but  going  back  with  the  land 
agent  to  look  up  the  title,  I  was  buttonholed  by 
another  man,  who  offered  me  another  piece  of 
property  quite  as  cheap.  Then  another  took  me 
in  hand,  and  so  much  property  was  crowded  upon 
me,  and  at  such  low  prices,  that  I  was  scared,  and 
inly  resolved  I  would  not  buy  where  everybody 
was  trying  to  sell  out  and  leave.  So  declining  them 
all,  I  bought  a  ticket  for  San  Francisco  and  left. 

This  was  twenty-four  years  ago.  Sixteen  years 
thereafter,  on  a  visit  to  Portland,  1  went  over  the 
river,  and  lo !  that  160  acre  lot,  offered  me  for  less 


RETURNING    HOMEWARD.  29! 

than  $3,000,  was  now  in  the  center  of  the  city  of 
East  Portland,  and  not  one  acre  could  be  pur 
chased  for  $1,000. 

SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Reaching  San  Francisco,  I  found  the  city  im- 
mensely  changed  from  what  it  was  thirteen  years 
before,  at  my  last  visit,  but  in  nothing  more  than 
in  the  expense  of  living.  In  1851,  hotel  bills  were 
all  the  way  from  $3  a  day  to  $10.  A  single 
meal,  however  plain  and  unpretentious,  was  $i. 
Now,  in  1864,  the  usual  charge  for  a  square  meal 
(as  the  miners  call  it)  was  from  twenty-five  cents 
to  half  a  dollar.  I  took  a  room  at  the  Railroad 
House,  and  a  very  desirable  one,  too;  two  beds 
were  in  it,  it  was  large  and  furnished  with  books, 
writing  material,  etc.,  and  all  my  companion  and  I 
paid  was  fifty  cents  each  a  day.  Two  large  res 
taurants  were  attached  to  the  hotel.  One  for 
families  and  ladies,  the  other  for  men  and  transient 
boarders  ;  and  in  either  of  them  a  liberal  patronage 
of  the  bill  of  fare  seldom  made  the  expense  over 
thirty-seven  cents  for  a  meal.  And  I  daily  saw  500 
men  go  into  the  "  Lick  Restaurant"  and  get  a  fair 
dinner  there  for  ten  cents  each.  Indeed,  San  Fran 
cisco  had,  during  those  thirteen  years,  taken  a  long 
step  forward,  and  from  being  the  most  expensive 
city  on  earth  to  live  in,  had  now  become  one  of  the 
very  cheapest. 

I  was  surprised  to  find  that  California  still  ad 
hered  strictly  to  the  gold  and  silver  basis,  notwith- 


THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

standing  the  National  law  making  greenbacks 
legal  tender  for  payment  of  debts.  California  was 
truly  a  loyal  State,  but  her  courts,  her  legislature, 
and  all  her  citizens,  tacitly  ignored  the  Greenback 
Act  of  Congress,  and  only  gold  and  silver  were 
currency  within  her  bounds.  The  National  paper 
was  indeed  here,  but  it  was  not  treated  as  money, 
but  was  bought  and  sold  by  brokers,  the  same  as 
mining  stocks,  or  bonds  of  States  and  cities.  Suits 
had  been  started  several  times  in  the  courts,  to 
compel  creditors  to  take  greenbacks  at  their  face 
for  debts,  but  the  judges  put  the  cases  off  from 
time  to  time,  or  persuaded  the  parties  to  withdraw 
them. 

The  ground  generally  taken  by  the  leading 
men  of  the  State  was,  that  while  the  National 
Legal  Tender  Act  was  a  necessity  in  carrying  on 
the  war,  the  case  of  California,  as  a  gold-pro 
ducing  State,  was  exceptional.  She  ought  to  re 
tain  her  gold  against  future  emergencies.  Happily 
she  did  so,  and  it  enabled  her,  when  the  war  was 
over,  to  open  her  vaults  and  allow  her  coin  to  flow 
over  the  mountains,  and  enable  the  Government 
the  sooner  to  resume  specie  payments,  and  bring 
her  credit  up  to  par  and  above  it  among  the  na 
tions  of  the  earth.  While  in  the  city  I  bought 
$1,000  in  currency  for  $650  in  gold.  After  a 
month's  stay  I  left  for  New  York.  Nothing  of 
special  interest  occurred  on  the  passage. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

AT  HOME  AGAIN. 

Arrived  at  New  York,  I  found  the  great  city 
full  of  business,  and  in  full  tide  of  prosperity,  with 
scarce  a  sign  of  the  great  war  now  in  progress, 
and  hastening  to  its  close.  The  expense  of  living 
was  frightful,  and  contrasted  strongly  with  San 
Francisco.  I  think  my  room  in  the  hotel  cost  me 
$3  a  day.  But  everything  was  on  a  greenback 
basis.  I  could  readily  sell  my  gold  on  Wall  street 
for  double  its  face  in  greenbacks. 

From  the  city  I  hastened  to  visit  kindred  and 
friends  in  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Massachu 
setts,  New  York  State,  and  Ohio,  bringing  up  at 
my  home  in  Dartford,  Wis.,  about  the  first  of 
April,  1864.  I  found  on  my  arrival  another  min 
ister  occupying  my  old  pulpit,  and  acting  pastor 
of  the  church.  He  proposed  at  once  to  resign, 
but  I  opposed  with  all  my  might,  saying  that  I 
much  preferred  to  engage  in  evangelistic  work, 
assisting  the  churches  in  their  special  meetings, 
unembarrassed  by  pastoral  care  and  work.  That 
as  my  home  was  there,  I  would  pay  for  his  sup 
port  more  than  any  one  else  in  the  parish.  But 
nothing  could  change  his  purpose,  saying  that 
neither  himself  or  any  other  man  could  satisfy  the 

(5593) 


294  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

people,  while  the  old  pastor,  endeared  to  them 
by  so  many  thrilling  memories,  was  at  hand  and 
able  to  serve  them.  So,  much  to  my  regret  he 
left,  and  I  soon  found  myself  in  the  old  traces 
again. 

After  I  had  served  them  a  year  or  so,  there 
came  a  call  from  two  churches,  Brandon  and 
Springvale,  to  preach  alternately  to  each  of 
them,  giving  Brandon  the  morning  sermon  on 
the  Sabbath  and  to  Springvale  that  of  the  after 
noon.  Both  of  these  churches  were  endeared  to 
me  by  revival  meetings  I  had  held  in  them  years 
before.  They  were  only  five  miles  apart.  Reluct 
antly  I  left  Dartford  for  the  new  field  and  labored 
there  till  near  the  end  of  1867.  Little  of  note  oc 
curred  during  my  stay  there. 

In  each  church  we  held  revival  meetings  and 
quite  a  number  were,  we  trust,  added  to  the  Lord 
in  both  places.  But  a  great  and  sore  trial  was  now 
coming  upon  me.  The  nerve  power  so  indispen 
sable  to  sustained  effort  in  preaching — especially 
in  protracted  efforts — now  began  to  fail  me. 
Calls  came  to  me  from  all  sides  to  aid  my  brethren 
in  these  harvest  seasons  of  the  churches.  But  the 
vigor  of  former  years  had  departed.  A  sermon, 
energetic  during  the  first  fifteen  minutes,  became 
weak  and  labored  as  it  approached  its  conclusion. 
A  week  or  two  of  continuous  effort  prostrated  me 
completely.  I  felt  intensely  sad  at  this,  and  it  was  a 
question  of  anxious  thought,  Whence  is  this? 
Have  I  not  in  some  way  grieved  from  my  heart  the 


AT  HOME  AGAIN. 

Divine  Spirit,  so  that  as  in  the  case  of  Israel  of  old, 
he  goes  no  more  forth  with  me,  to  fight  the  battles  of 
the  Lord  ?  Over  and  over  again  I  reviewed  the  past 
stopping  at  each  questionable  place  and  asking,  Did 
I  here  do  just  what  was  right  ?  And  did  I  not  at 
this  point  let  go  of  that  Divine  hand  which  so 
gently  and  so  tenderly  led  me,  during  those  years 
of  success  and  power  ?  But  to  these  earnest  inter 
rogations  there  came  no  satisfactory  response. 

God  was  trying  me,  while  yet  he  was  leading 
me  through  a  dark  place.  But  light  was  beyond, 
and  all  the  while  I  was  approaching  it.  In  some 
such  way  it  came. 

THE  SERMON  IN  THE   APPLE    TREE. 

Walking  one  day  in  my  orchard,  I  came  to  an 
apple  tree  which  I  greatly  prized.  It  had  borne 
great  crops  for  years  of  excellent  fruit.  But  now, 
alas,  its  fruit  was  small  and  withered,  the  leaves 
were  turning  yellow  and  that  year,  though  compar 
atively  young,  it  had  made  little  growth !  It  was 
evident  its  period  of  fruit  bearing  was  past  and 
God  had  shifted  over  upon  other  and  younger 
trees,  the  burdens  it  had  been  wont  to  carry.  As 
I  stood  looking  at  it,  I  read  there  written  among 
the  branches — God's  inexorable  law — that  not  al 
ways  on  earth  shall  even  the  best  employed  pow 
ers  retain  their  vigor  or  fruitfulness,  but  like  this 
tree,  must  ultimately  wither  and  give  place  to 
others.  That  this  has  been  true  of  other  men — the 
latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  un- 


296  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

loose,  and  why  not  in  my  case  as  well?  And 
decadence  in  abilities  and  success  is  no  more  proof 
of  God's  displeasure  than  of  his  wrath  against  this 
tree.  And  I  went  out  of  that  orchard  a  wiser 
and  a  happier  man ! — thanking  God  for  the  past, 
reconciled  to  the  present,  and  looking  hopefully 
toward  the  future.  Since  then  I  have  daily 
thanked  the  Lord  for  abilities  still  retained,  and 
have  sought  to  use  them,  well  and  wisely. 

THE  SKEPTIC'S  CONVERSION. 

In  one  of  these  meetings  of  days — held  during 
my  pastorate  in  Springvale — there  occurred  a  some 
what  remarkable  conversion.  It  was  that  of  Mr. 
Eugene  Ely,  now  a  resident  of  Iowa,  a  licentiate 
preacher,  an  accomplished  instructor  of  youth  and 
in  other  walks  a  most  devout  and  useful  man. 
Should  his  eye  fall  upon  this  narration,  I  trust  he 
will  pardon  this  exposure  to  the  public  of  a  confer 
ence  eminently  private  and  confidential,  for  the  sake 
of  the  benefit  it  is  hoped  others  may  derive  from 
it.  Mr.  Ely  had  years  before  married  a  most  ex 
cellent  lady  in  my  church,  the  daughter  of  its 
former  pastor,  a  Miss  Julia  Lamb. 

Mr.  Ely  was  a  well-educated  man,  had  taught 
school,  and  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Union  army. 
But  alas,  he  was  a  disbeliever  in  the  Bible,  and, 
quite  pronounced  and  outspoken  in  his  sentiments 
of  disbelief.  But  his  wife,  her  sister  and  brother 
were  decided  Christians  and  were  praying  for  him 
continually.  They  desired  he  should  have  a  talk 


AT  HOME  AGAIN.  297 

with  me  on  the  subject.  He  would  be  pleased  to 
do  so,  as  he  regarded  Mr.  Bristol  as  a  candid 
man,  but  it  would  do  no  good  for  he  had  objec 
tions  to  the  Bible  and  all  revealed  religion  no 
man  on  earth  could  remove !  It  was  while  hold 
ing  a  series  of  meetings  in  Springvale  that  an 
opportunity  occurred.  I  was  boarding  with  Mr. 
Edward  Lamb  and  his  sister,  when  Mr.  Ely  and 
wife  came  to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  perhaps  also  to 
attend  some  of  the  meetings. 

This  brought  us  in  contact  and  afforded  the 
opportunity  for  the  coveted  conversation,  and  we 
took  a  whole  day  for  it,  a  day  never  to  be  forgot 
ten  by  him  or  by  me.  It  was  a  snowy  day  and 
little  could  be  done  without.  So  at  the  breakfast 
table  Mr.  Lamb  said:  "Eugene,  I  will  do  the 
chores  and  do  you  and  Mr.  Bristol  go  into  the  parlor 
and  have  a  good  talk  to-day."  All  the  family  in 
dorsed  heartily  the  suggestion.  So  we  went  in  and 
the  door  was  shut.  Turning  at  once  to  the  matter 
uppermost  in  each  of  our  minds,  I  opened  by  show 
ing  briefly  what  were  the  great  and  benevolent 
principles  the  Bible  teaches  and  seeks  by  highest 
rewards  to  implant  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  what 
an  Eden  restored  it  would  soon  create  in  our 
world,  would  all  mankind  adopt  and  practice 
them.  Was  such  a  religion  begotten  and  brought 
forth  by  a  generation  of  liars  or  of  fools  ?  Could  a 
bad  tree  bring  forth  such  good  fruit?  Mr.  Ely 
admitted  there  was  force  in  these  considerations. 

But  the  objections  were  strong  enough  to  set  it 


298  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

all  aside.  Should  be  mention  some  of  them  ?  Yes, 
surely.  I  would  be  glad  to  hear  them.  He  pre 
sented  one.  I  admitted  its  plausibility,  and  taking 
his  line  of  thought  1  added  a  further  consideration 
which  gave  it  additional  force.  He  thanked  me 
for  it  and  asked,  How  can  you  answer  them?  I 
then  gave  the  considerations  which  to  my  mind 
completely  neutralized  the  force  of  those  objections 
to  the  Bible.  He  listened  candidly,  and  at  length 
said,  "We  will  lay  that  objection  to  the  Bible  aside. 
I  don't  think  it  has  much  force."  He  brought  forth 
another,  and  this  was  treated  like  its  predecessor 
and  like  it  laid  aside.  And  so  the  discussion  went 
on  all  the  forenoon,  the  utmost  candor  prevail 
ing  all  through.  We  were  seeking  the  truth,  and 
the  God  of  truth  was  there  helping  us  to  disen 
tangle  it  from  error.  We  were  called  to  dinner, 
after  which  Mr.  Ely  went  to  his  room  a  moment 
and  his  anxious  wife  asked  about  the  discussion  and 
he  replied,  "The  pleasantest  I  ever  had  in  my  life." 
"Did  he  answer  your  objections?"  "Yes  and  with 
the  utmost  fairness.  He  is  the  most  candid  of 
men.  But  I  have  not  presented  my  strongest.  I 
have  reserved  them  to  this  afternoon.  Those  ob 
jections  I  know  he  cannot  answer,  or  any  one  else." 
We  returned  to  the  parlor,  and  took  up  the 
thread  of  argument  where  we  dropped  it  for  din 
ner.  Other  objections  were  brought  forward,  and 
resulted  as  in  the  forenoon — till  near  night  Mr. 
Ely  brought  forth  not  only  his  strong,  but  one 
which  he  considered  the  unanswerable  argument 


AT  HOME  AGAIN.  299 

against  the  Bible.  The  answer  I  gave  startled  him! 
Springing  to  his  feet  he  said,  "Please  state  that 
again!"  I  did  so  in  other  language.  He  saw  it  was 
fatal.  It  undermined  his  great  objection  com 
pletely.  And  there  he  stood  disarmed  and  naked 
before  God  and  all  the  sweeping  claims  of  religion 
and  the  Bible.  I  had  felt  all  that  day,  and  I  pre 
sume  so  had  he,  that  the  room  was  full  of  light! 
That  exposing  error  and  presenting  truth,  we  were 
aided  by  a  prompter  unseen. 

The  sun  was  setting,  and  Mr.  Ely,  taking  his  hat 
went  out  into  an  adjacent  wood,  I  presume  to  pray. 
Returning  at  tea,  he  said  I  must  go  home.  Why? 
He  had  some  rails  to  haul,  etc.  I  asked  if  there 
was  not  something  in  the  line  of  duty  far  more 
important  than  hauling  rails?  He  thought  a 
moment  and  said,  I  will  go  to  meeting  to-night. 
We  went.  I  tried  to  preach.  But  my  nerve-power 
was  gone,  used  up  by  the  day's  discussion.  Preach 
ing  this  night  was  rowing  against  wind,  and  wave 
and  tide.  After  speaking  feebly  some  fifteen  min 
utes,  I  closed  the  book  and  said,  Brethren,  I  am 
too  weary  to  preach  to-night.  I  must  turn  over 
upon  your  shoulders  the  burden  and  responsi 
bilities  of  this  meeting.  Deacon  Savage  prayed  and 
then  there  was  an  oppressive  silence,  and  I  rose 
and  said,  "  Perhaps  there  is  in  this  house  some 
one  not  a  Christian,  whose  hour  of  supreme  in 
terest  has  come  ;  the  hour  whose  decision  and 
action  will  determine  an  endless  future  ! 

"Such  a  crisis  occurs  some  time  in  the  history 


300  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

of  us  all !  Oh,  the  value  of  that  hour,  when  the 
Spirit  hovering  over  a  convicted  sinner,  whispers : 
*  Now  is  the  accepted  time,  to-day  is  the  day  of 
salvation  !'  Had  poor,  begging,  blind  Bartimeus, 
sitting  pensive  by  the  wayside  when  Jesus  passed 
by  neglected,  even  for  ten  minutes,  to  cry  '  Jesus, 
thou  son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  me,'  how  dif 
ferent  had  been  his  history  and  everlasting  des 
tiny!" 

Mr.  Ely  sprang  to  his  feet  and  said,  "I  am  a 
great  sinner !  It  don't  seem  possible  God  can  for 
give  me.  But  if  any  of  you  can  pray  for  me  I 
ask  you  to  do  so,  and  T  will  try  to  pray  for  myself." 
So  saying,  and  not  waiting  for  others,  he  fell  upon 
his  knees  and  offered  up  the  first  public  prayer  of 
his  life.  Others  were  also  moved  to  pray,  and 
there  was  no  lack  of  interest  to  the  close  of  the 
meeting.  When  we  returned  home,  in  our  family 
prayer  each  one,  including  Mr.  Ely,  led  the  others 
at  the  Lord's  altar. 

From  that  notable  day  unto  this,  covering  a 
period  of  more  than  twenty  years,  there  has  been 
a  familv  altar  in  Mr.  Ely's  house,  and  the  sight  is 
not  unusual  in  the  church  which  he  attends,  of 
himself  and  wife  and  four  promising  children,  all 
sitting  around  the  Lord's  table  and  showing  forth 
his  death,  till  he  shall  come  !  The  number  of  con 
versions  in  this  revival  was  small.  Speaking  of 
this  rather  mournfully,  subsequently  in  a  prayer- 
meeting,  Miss  Elizabeth  Lamb  rose  and  asked  me 
what  I  thought  the  conversion  of  Mr.  Ely  was 


AT  HOME  AGAIN.  3<3I 

worth  ?  The  question  took  me  aback.  I  felt 
justly  reproved,  and  never  after  murmured  over 
the  small  success  of  that  effort.  Years  after  Mr. 
Ely  wrote  me  offering  me  one  or  two  hundred 
dollars,  if  I  would  write  out  a  synopsis  of  that 
conversation.  In  vain  I  tried  to  reproduce  it.  It 
came  upon  us  as  a  vision,  and  as  a  vision  it  passed 
away.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  while  President  of 
Lane  Seminary,  once  told  his  students  of  holding 
revival  meetings  among  the  pioneer  settlements, 
and  that  the  power  of  his  sermons  astonished  not 
only  the  people,  but  himself.  When  he  returned 
to  the  seminary  he  tried  to  reproduce  them,  but 
could  not.  He  added,  that  like  many  of  the  ex 
periences  of  life,  they  would  be  profaned  by  a 
rehearsal. 

RIPON  COLLEGE. 

Not  long  after  my  return  from  California  I 
received  a  call  from  Rev.  Dr.  Merriman,  President 
of  Ripon  College.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest 
preachers  in  the  State,  an  acute  reasoner,  a  man 
of  scholarly  attainments  and  otherwise  eminently 
fitted  to  preside  over  and  develop  the  youthful 
college.  But  at  that  day  it  had  next  to  no  endow 
ment  fund,  and  worse  than  that,  there  was  hanging 
over  it  a  $20,000  debt.  President  Merriman  at  once 
determined  to  remove  that  debt  and  put  the 
College  on  such  a  basis  that  its  annual  income  and 
expenses  should  balance  each  other.  The  financial 
condition  of  the  country  made  it  impossible  to 
get  money  in  the  East.  The  West,  and  especially 


302  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

Wisconsin,  must  first  indorse  the  youthful  college 
and  show  faith  in  its  future  by  canceling  that 
debt.  This  was  plausible,  if  not  wholly  reasonable. 
So  President  Merriman  undertook  to  raise  the 
$20,000  in  Wisconsin.  A  whole  year  was  spent  at 
it,  the  ground  canvassed  over  and  over,  and  at 
its  end  only  a  little  over  $18,000  had  been  sub 
scribed  and  all  this  on  condition  of  the  whole 
being  subscribed  by  responsible  parties.  Worn 
down  with  the  long  labor,  discouraged  by  the 
meager  results  and  not  knowing  where  to  go  for 
the  remaining  $2,000,  the  good  man  rode  up  to  my 
house  to  stay  a  few  days,  he  said,  and  rest  and 
then  go  back  to  the  college,  resign  his  office  and 
abandon  the  institution  to  its  fate.  Of  course,  he 
was  welcomed  with  a  brother's  love  and  sympathy. 
While  he  was  resting,  being  one  of  the  trustees 
I  looked  over  the  list  of  subscriptions  and  saw  it  was 
reliable  so  far  as  I  knew  the  men.  I  asked  if  the 
college  had  not  some  property  we  could  sell  and 
raise  a  part  of  the  money.  Yes,  there  were  some 
lots  down  by  the  railroad  depot.  We  concluded 
we  could  get  a  Mr.  Catlin  to  take  them  for  $300 
or  $400.  Then  there  was  this  horse  he  had  been 
riding,  and  now  in  my  stable.  Then  there  was  a 
second-hand  carriage.  Thus  we  figured  down  the 
debt  till  it  was  reduced  to  some  $1,300  or  $1,400. 
Here  "  was  the  rub."  How  could  we  raise  that? 
We  were  sitting  near  a  small  bureau  and  I  opened 
one  of  its  drawers  and  taking  thence  a  small  box  I 
took  out  a  couple  of  $500  bills  and  spread 


AT   HOME  AGAIN.  303 

them  on  his  knee.  Then  two  $100  bills  and  then 
in  lesser  bills  the  lacking  amount  was  made  up.  A 
more  astonished  man  one  rarely  sees !  "  Do  you 
mean  that?"  said  he.  "  Certainly,  put  it  in  your 
purse  and  lie  down  upon  it  and  go  to  sleep.  Rest 
with  me  a  week  and  recruit  your  strength  and 
then  I  will  let  you  go  back  to  the  college."  "Not  a 
bit  of  it,"  he  replied,  "I  am  well  now ;  I  must  go 
right  back  and  tell  the  professors  the  joyful  news. 
I  can't  keep  it  pent  up  all  that  time ;  let  me  have 
my  horse."  And  1  could  not  persuade  him  even  to 
stay  with  me  to  tea.  Cantering  away  he  was 
quickly  in  Ripon,  and  I  was  told  that  entering  the 
town  he  saw  across  the  street  a  friend  of  the 
college  and  also  one  of  the  subscribers,  and  he 
called  out,  "Prepare  to  pay  your  subscription  ; 
the  $20,000  is  raised !  /  have  seen  the  money." 
And  then  was  great  joy  in  that  city.  *  *  *  In 
thus  helping  to  relieve  the  college,  while  it  was  a 
great  pleasure  to  me,  as  also  the  memory  of  it  ever 
since,  I  claim  no  special  credit  for  it.  For  1  truly 
feel  that  he,  who  has  the  power  to  give,  is  under 
greater  obligation  to  be  grateful,  than  he  who 
receives.  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  TO   CALIFORNIA. 

The  year  1867  opened  upon  me  weaker  in  nerve 
power  than  ever  before.  I  was  obliged  to  curtail 
my  labors  and  confine  them  to  Springvale.  The 
long  cold  winters  of  Wisconsin  confining  me  so 
much  indoors,  and  interfering  so  much  with  regu 
lar  outdoor  exercise,  was  steadily  aggravating  my 
nervous  troubles,  and  I  resolved  to  try  again  the 
healing  virtue  of  a  California  climate.  Early  in 
the  autumn  I  sold  out,  and  left  with  my  family  for 
the  Golden  State.  Our  route  was  via  New  York, 
Panama,  and  the  Pacific.  Even  so  late  as  1867, 
twenty  years  ago,  no  railroad  had  crossed  the 
western  plains,  and  the  quickest  route  to  San  Fran 
cisco  from  Wisconsin  was  that  which  took  us  one 
thousand  miles  east  to  New  York,  thence  twenty- 
five  hundred  to  Panama,  then  three  or  four  thou 
sand  more  to  the  Golden  Gate ;  and  all  to  reach  a 
country  scarce  two  thousand  miles  west !  The  voy 
age  was  without  incident,  and  quite  lacking  in  in 
terest  to  one  who,  like  myself,  had  passed  over  the 
route  three  times  before.  Arrived  at  San  Fran 
cisco,  we  went  southwesterly  about  one  hundred 
miles,  to  San  Benito  county,  and  took  up  our  resi 
dence  in  San  Juan.  The  families  to  whom  I  bore 

(304) 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  TO   CALIFORNIA.       305 

letters  of  recommendation  received  us  with  char 
acteristic  California  hospitality. 

The  sea  voyage  had  done  me  no  good.  I  was 
far  from  well,  and  concluded  it  was  my  duty  to 
cast  off  care,  and  recreate,  as  best  I  could,  for  some 
months  at  least.  To  this  end  I  wandered  over  the 
hills,  carrying  a  gun  on  my  shoulder,  and  captur 
ing  game  wherever  I  could  find  it.  Nothing  more 
completely  diverts  a  man's  thoughts  from  old 
channels,  and  scatters  them  broadcast  upon  new 
and  changing  objects.  The  physical  exercise  is  so 
varied,  going  up  hill  and  down,  one  hour  clamber 
ing  over  fences  and  rocks,  and  climbing  the  hills, 
and  the  next  crawling  on  all  fours  through  the 
tangled  thicket,  or  running  down  hills.  Then  the 
excitement  of  the  chase  affords  a  salutary  exhilara 
tion  of  the  spirits.  For  two  months  or  so  I  tried 
this  best  of  remedies  for  nerves,  worn  and  wearied 
-by  overwork  and  care. 

HUNTING  NEAR  SAN  JUAN. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  game  near  San  Juan, 
and  not  infrequently  I  returned  from  a  day's  excur 
sion  heavily  laden  with  the  prey  I  had  taken. 
Perhaps  it  may  interest  some  of  the  boys  who  read 
this  book,  and  girls,  too,  to  have  a  more  particular 
account  of  some  of  these  strollings  over  the  mount 
ains,  and  scenes  of  the  chase  and  the  hunt.  For 
their  sakes  I  will  relate  some  of  them,  for  I  have 
ever  loved  to  amuse  them  with  an  innocent  story. 
Amusement  holds  an  important  place  in  human 


306  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

life,  and  at  no  stage  is  there  a  greater  demand  for 
it  than  in  childhood  and  youth.  Older  people,  if 
there  are  any  who  have  got  beyond  such  things, 
may  skip  this  chapter,  and  pass  to  the  one  which 
follows  it. 

San  Juan  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  Gabilan 
Mountains,  and  these  mountains  abounded  in  wild 
hogs,  wild  cats,  deer,  panther,  bear,  wolves,  rac 
coons,  rabbits,  squirrels  and  quail  in  infinite  num 
bers.  Years  ago  there  were  here  great  herds  of 
elk,  wild  horses  and  cattle ;  but  there  were  none 
here  at  the  period  of  my  visit.  The  shepherds 
who  pastured  their  flocks  in  the  vicinity  of  these 
mountains,  complained  much  of  the  depredations 
of  wild  boars,  coming  out  of  the  thickets  by  night, 
ripping  up  the  sheep  with  their  great  tusks,  and 
devouring  them.  Usually  they  would  run  back 
with  their  prey  into  the  thickets  when  attacked  by 
the  shepherd  and  his  dogs ;  but  not  always.  Now 
and  then  an  old  wild  boar,  who  feared  neither  wolf 
nor  bear,  would  stand  his  ground,  and  crunch  his 
mutton  fearlessly  in  the  face  of  the  owner.  If  at 
tacked  he  would  give  battle,  in  which  case  the 
shepherd  usually  sought  refuge  in  a  tree,  and  staid 
there  till  the  boar  was  tired  of  waiting  for  him  to 
come  down,  and  walked  away.  And  woe  to  his 
dogs  if  one  of  them  received  a  side-winder  from 
one  of  those  terrible  tusks. 

Near  to  San  Juan  was  one  famous  for  his  size, 
his  ferocity,  his  depredations,  his  daring,  and  his 
many  encounters  with  armed  men  and  dogs.  I 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  TO   CALIFORNIA.       307 

heard  so  much  about  him  that  I  rather  wanted  to 
see  him,  and  soon  had  an  opportunity.  I  and  my 
nephew,  Selwyn  Shaw,  were  invited  by  Deacon 
Cowles  and  son  to  accompany  them  on  a  hunt  for 
wild  hogs.  The  tinre  fixed  upon  was  to  be  imme 
diately  after  the  first  rain,  because  we  could  then 
track  them  in  the  soft  ground.  Accordingly,  after 
the  first  good  shower,  my  nephew  and  I  mounted 
our  horses  and  repaired  to  the  place  of  rendezvous, 
but  Mr.  Cowles  and  son  were  not  there.  We  soon 
came  upon  the  fresh  tracks  of  large  hogs,  and  tufts 
of  grass  rooted  up  here  and  there.  There  were 
two  of  them,  and  they  seemed  to  be  accompanied 
by  a  yearling  steer.  The  game  must  be  near,  and 
much  we  desired  the  presence  and  help  of  Mr. 
Cowles  and  son;  besides,  we  had  no  dogs.  My 
nephew  went  down  toward  their  house  to  see  if 
they  were  coming  and  to  get  their  dogs.  While 
he  was  gone  I  reconnoitered  the  grounds  and  traced 
them  up  the  mountain,  till  they  turned  into  a  dense 
patch  of  chapparal,  nearly  circular,  and  perhaps 
ten  rods  in  diameter.  Around  and  around  this  I 
went,  till  I  was  sure  they  had  not  passed  through 
it,  and  was  certain  they  were  there.  But  that 
steer!  Surely  he  could  not  have  gone  in  there  ! 

Again  I  examined  the  track  and  found  it  was 
the  track  of  a  great  boar,  doubtless  the  one  I  had 
heard  so  much  of!  If  that  was  so  there  was  a  bat 
tle  ahead,  and  either  he  or  we  would  get  hurt.  I 
at  once  readjusted  my  weapons,  put  a  double  load 
of  powder  in  each  barrel,  and  from  twenty  to  thirty 


308  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

small  revolver  balls,  and  got  my  knife  in  position, 
and  I  waited  and  waited  for  the  coming  of  my 
companions  in  the  hunt.  Finding  a  point  whence 
I  could  overlook  the  valley,  I  descried  them  some 
two  miles  off,  approaching ;  but  soon  they  turned 
from  the  direct  course  and  went  at  right  angles  to 
it,  toward  San  Juaa.  I  concluded  some  one  was 
sick  and  they  were  going  for  a  doctor.  On  they 
went  a  mile  or  more,  and  passed  out  of  sight ;  so  I 
concluded  I  should  have  to  fight  out  the  battle 
alone,  and  went  back  to  the  lair  of  the  wild  hogs. 
The  truth  was  the  rain  of  the  past  night  had 
washed  a  gully,  narrow  but  deep,  for  a  mile  or  two 
in  length,  and  they  had  to  go  that  distance  to  cross 
it  with  their  team  and  wagon.  With  not  a  little 
caution  I  peered  into  the  chapparal  thicket  on  hands 
and  knees,  venturing  a  rod  or  so  within,  and  then 
backing  out  and  trying  a  new  place.  Thus  I  went 
around  it,  venturing  in  toward  the  center  farther 
and  farther.  At  length  I  saw  before  me,  some  thirty 
feet,  a  black  heap  !  It  was  the  hogs  I  was  in  quest  of. 
I  could  hear  their  labored  breathing  and  an  occa 
sional  snore  !  Inch  by  inch  I  advanced,  my  finger  on 
the  trigger,  till  I  could  make  out  a  hog's  head,  rest 
ing  on  the  back  of  another,  and  his  snout  pointing 
directly  at  me.  I  would  make  sure  of  him  with 
one  barrel,  and  defend  myself,  if  attacked,  with  the 
other  and  my  knife.  Taking  aim  I  saw  a  small 
sapling,  an  inch  in  diameter,  standing  directly  in 
the  line  between  my  eye  and  the  center  of  the  fore 
head.  Moving  aside  a  little  to  avoid  it,  he  opened 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY   TO   CALIFORNIA,        309 

his  eyes  and  glared  at  me  !  A  wild  grunt  and  they 
were  all  on  their  feet  and  rushing  out  of  the  thicket 
not  far  from  me,  and  I  forced  myself  outside  too, 
as  quick  as  they !  But  there  confronted  me  the 
famous  wild  boar  of  which  I  have  spoken.  And  a 
grand  sight  it  was  ;  especially  the  tactics  he  dis 
played  in  showing  off  his  size  and  prowess  as  he  ad 
vanced  toward  me.  He  did  not  rush  upon  me  at 
once,  but  approached  steadily  and  slowly,  now  turn 
ing  this  side,  now  that,  his  long  back  rigid  with 
bristles,  his  tusks  protruding  three  inches  outside 
his  upper  lip,  and  his  mouth  white  with  foam  !  His 
eye  glared  fiercely  upon  me,  and  his  hoarse  grunt- 
ings,  and  occasional  sharp,  explosive  barkings, 
were  like  those  of  an  ourang-outang  when  aroused 
and  enraged.  To  show  me  what  he  could  do  with 
those  great  tusks,  he  dropped  his  head  and  tore  up 
the  ground  and  scattered  the  sod.  Had  I  ran  I 
have  no  doubt  he  would  have  followed  me  and 
probably  have  killed  me. 

Instead  of  running  I  steadily  advanced,  and 
planting  my  foot  firmly,  I  gave  him  the  full  benefit 
of  one  of  those  terrible  double  charges  I  sometimes 
used.  I  was  thrown  back  a  couple  of  steps.  The 
boar  sprang  toward  me,  but  his  hind  legs  gave  way 
and  he  had  to  drag  his  hind  parts  with  his  fore 
feet.  I  easily  avoided  him,  and  poured  another 
shower  of  balls  into  his  forehead.  He  quailed  a 
little  and  I  loaded  up  again.  I  had  discharged 
that  first  load  at  his  heart,  and  just  back  of  the 
shoulder  blade,  I  did  not  know  then,  as  I  do  now, 


310  THE   PIONEER    PREACHER. 

that  to  an  old  wild  boar  this  is  about  the  least  vul 
nerable  spot  about  him  ;  for  there  is  a  shield  there 
tougher  than  any  sole  leather  and  three-fourths  of 
an  inch  thick,  made  so  by  continual  gorings  and 
bruises,  in  countless  battles  with  his  kind.  So  im 
penetrable  is  this  shield,  and  so  large,  too,  that  I 
have  no  doubt  that  nineteen  out  of  twenty  of  my 
revolver  balls  flattened  against  it,  and  not  one  of 
them  passed  through  it.  A  scattering  ball  or  two 
flew  above  the  shield  and  entered  the  muscles 
along  the  backbone,  and  hence  the  temporary  pa 
ralysis  of  the  hind  legs.  The  balls  of  the  second 
load,  discharged  at  his  forehead,  were  probably 
also  flattened  against  his  thick  skull ;  but  they 
stunned  him  somewhat  and  he  ceased  to  advance- 
Just  as  I  had  finished  reloading,  he  turned  and  be 
gan  moving  down  the  steep  toward  a  line  of  chap- 
paral.  I  followed  him  slowly,  being  sure  of  my 
game ;  but  getting  into  the  bushes  again,  he  recov 
ered  the  use  of  his  hind  legs  and  was  able  to  keep 
out  of  my  way. 

While  I  was  following  him  up  I  heard  the 
shouts  of  my  comrades,  and  with  their  dogs  we 
worried  him  for  perhaps  two  hours,  but  could  not 
get  a  shot  at  him  on  account  of  the  thick  chapparal 
bushes.  The  dogs  dared  not  go  near  him.  Be 
lieving  he  would  die,  and  knowing  that  his  meat 
was  of  no  account,  we  left  him  and  went  in  search 
of  something  more  palatable.  Before  night  I 
killed  a  shoat  of  125  pounds,  and  we  packed  him 
on  our  horse  and  went  home.  I  may -add  that 


THE   THIRD   JOURNEY   TO   CALIFORNIA.        31 1 

once  afterward  I  encountered  another  wild  boar, 
nearly  as  large,  and  that  he  succumbed  only  after 
I  had  fired  into  him  eight  loads  like  those  described 
above,  and  from  a  distance  not  exceeding  twenty 
or  thirty  feet.  This  animal  also  feared  neither  dog 
nor  man. 

A  WILD   GOOSE   HUNT. 

Soon  after  this  wild  hog  hunting  affair,  a  gen 
tleman  invited  me  to  go  with  him  after  wild  geese. 
My  wife's  sister,  Mrs.  Shaw,  with  whom  we  boarded, 
interested  herself  not  a  little  in  this  goose  hunt, 
and  not  small  was  the  sport  she  made  over  the 
matter.  How  nice  those  geese  would  be!  She 
would  cook  them  thus  and  thus  !  She  would  call 
in  friends  to  enjoy  them  with  us  !  Then  the  feath 
ers !  What  nice  pillows  they  would  make! 
Thrown  a  little  upon  our  mettle,  and  wishing  to 
get  even  with  her,  we  exacted  a  promise  from  her 
before  we  started,  that  she  should  pick  and  dress  all 
we  should  shoot,  and  cook  and  serve  them  up  in 
the  most  approved  style.  Yes,  she  would  do  that, 
sure.  And  so  we  started  off  about  seven  o'clock 
one  morning.  We  crossed  the  San  Benito  River 
and  went  into  the  hills  a  couple  of  miles,  when  we 
approached  a  couple  of  lakelets,  each  perhaps  forty 
rods  wide  and  eighty  long.  My  companion  said, 
"  Let  me  lie  in  ambush  at  one  lake,  and  you  take 
the  other.  In  half  an  hour  the  geese  will  come  in 
here  from  their  pasture  grounds  in  the  wheat  stub 
ble.  Here  they  get  their  drink."  As  I  was  going 
to  my  assigned  lake  I  broke  off  a  great  limb  from 


312  THE   PIONEER   PREACHER. 

a  live  oak  and  dragged  it  after  me.  As  I  was  seek 
ing  a  hiding  place  I  heard  my  companion  shoot, 
and  then  a  loud  squawking  of  half  a  thousand 
geese.  Seeing  a  little  gully  by  the  side  of  the  lake, 
I  jumped  into  it  and  drew  the  bush  over  me. 
Presently  the  geese  began  to  come  in,  flock  after 
flock.  At  first  they  alighted  on  the  farther  side ; 
then  nearer  and  nearer,  till  some  of  them  were 
within  shooting  distance.  Nearer  and  yet  nearer 
they  came,  till  trailing  my  gun  upon  them  I  could 
take  four  or  five  in  range. 

A  flock  of  great  black  "  honkers"  came  within 
six  or  eight  rods  of  me.  And  now  they  were  com 
ing  from  all  directions,  and  every  part  of  the  little 
lake  was  agitated  with  the  alighting  flocks.  I  think 
there  must  have  been  fifty  thousand,  and  still  they 
were  coming.  Meantime  I  was  trailing  my  gun 
upon  them  wherever  I  could  get  most  in  range. 
But  a  shrewd  old  gander,  the  boss  of  the  flock, 
turning  his  head  sidewise,  and  peering  under  the 
bush,  descried  danger  there !  A  wild  squawk  and 
the  whole  fifty  thousand  instantly  took  wing.  The 
simultaneous  flap  of  the  wings  of  so  many  was  as 
the  noise  of  thunder  ;  but  I  fired  both  barrels  into 
the  flying  mass  and  there  fell  not  less  than  twenty 
killed  or  wounded,  some  on  the  land  and  some  in 
the  lake.  Instantly  there  swooped  down  from 
high  heaven  two  enormous  eagles,  and  pounced 
each  upon  a  wounded  goose  ;  but  the  geese  turning 
upon  their  backs,  so  plied  their  wings,  knocking 
aside  again  and  again  the  talons,  that  the  eagles 


THE  THIRD  JOURNEY  TO  CALIFORNIA.       313 

alighted  a  few  feet  distant  and  awaited  develop 
ments.  But  I  was  soon  there,  and  claimed  my 
own  and  drove  off  the  eagles.  I  could  easily  have 
shot  them,  but  I  was  not  after  eagles  now.  Well, 
I  gathered  them,  all  I  could  run  down  on  the  land, 
and  such  as  floated  ashore,  till  I  had  gathered 
twelve  !  I  had  killed  several  more  but  could  not 
find  them  on  the  land,  or  they  were  out  in  the 
lake  and  did  not  float  on  shore.  A  flock  coming 
over,  1  fired  and  killed  two  more,  which  gave  me 
fourteen  ! 

My  companion  coming  over  the  hill,  and  seeing 
my  pile,  said  we  would  take  them  and  go.  He 
had  only  one.  So  we  packed  them  to  our  cart 
and  drove  home.  It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  A. 
M.  when  we  drove  up.  Mrs.  Shaw  was  out  to 
meet  us,  and  said  triumphantly,  "  Come,  hand  over 
those  geese  ;  I  am  waiting  for  them."  We  hesi 
tated,  and  made  her  repeat  her  pledge  to  pick  and 
dress  <z//the  geese  we  should  shoot,  and  cook  them 
too,  and  do  it  all  herself.  "  Yes,  yes,  certainly ; 
hand  them  over."  And  now  the  whole  household, 
two  families,  were  out  and  gathered  around  the 
cart,  curious  to  see  if  we  could  show  a  goose. 
Putting  a  hand  under  the  curtain  we  drew  forth  a 
goose !  "  Well  done !  You  have  got  one  poor 
little  goose.  It  is  more  than  I  expected."  "  Did 
we  not  get  another?"  I  asked.  "  Yes,  I  believe 
we  did  ;"  and  I  put  down  the  hand  again  and  drew 
out  another.  "  Well !  you  have  got  two ;  they  will 
make  us  a  fair  meal !"  But  we  drew  out  another 


314  THE   PIONEER  PREACHER. 

and  put  it  in  her  hands,  then  another;  and  so  on 
and  on,  till  she  could  hold  no  more,  and  dropped 
"  the  old  geese"  in  disgust ;  and  so  we  continued 
till  there  lay  in  the  pile  fifteen  geese !  And  now 
it  was  our  turn  to  laugh,  and  turn  the  jokes  round 
the  other  way  But  Mrs.  Shaw,  with  her  charac 
teristic  good  nature,  joined  us  heartily,  and  went 
to  work  to  fulfill  her  promise,  and  did  so,  as  far  as 
mortal  woman  could. 

CALIFORNIA   QUAIL. 

California  is  noted  for  its  quail.  There  are  two 
kinds,  mountain  quail  and  lowland  quail.  Neither 
variety  is  like  that  of  the  Eastern  States.  The 
California  quail  has  a  plume  dandling  upon  its 
head,  which  trembles  and  sparkles  in  rainbow 
colors,  like  the  spots  in  a  peacock's  feather.  They 
abound  in  vast  numbers  over  all  the  State.  I  once 
saw  a  flock  coming  down  from  the  hills  to  a  sheep- 
fold,  which  I  estimated  at  from  three  to  five  thou 
sand.  The  flock  nearly  covered  a  space  three  rods 
wide  and  thirty  long.  I  fired  into  this  flock,  but 
killed  only  nine. 

SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA. 

Greatly  benefited  by  these  hunting  excursions, 
and  anxious  to  find  a  home  and  a  place  where  1 
could  resume  my  employment  as  a  preacher  of  the 
Gospel,  I  left  San  Juan  about  the  ist  of  January, 
1868,  for  a  tour  into  the  southern  counties,  called 
at  this  time  "  Cow  Counties,"  on  account  of  the 
vast  herds  of  cattle  pastured  there.  I  went  on 


SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA.  315 

horseback,  carried  my  blankets,  and  otherwise  pre 
pared  myself  to  camp  out  wherever  night  overtook 
me.  Crossing  the  Gabilan  Mountains,  I  followed 
up  the  Salinas  Valley  to  a  crossing  opposite  the 
old  mission  of  Soledad,  or  of  Solitude,  as  it  was 
very  properly  called.  I  was  obliged  to  swim  my 
horse  across  the  river.  Following  up  the  general 
course  of  the  Salinas  in  the  direction  of  San  Luis 
Obispo,  1  came  across  a  curiosity,  which  perhaps 
may  be  found  elsewhere,  but  was  a  novelty  to  me. 
It  was  a  bed  of  gigantic  oyster  shells,  embedded  in  a 
swell  of  sandy  land,  evidently  once  the  shore  of  the 
ocean  These  shells,  though  in  sand,  were  well 
preserved.  I  dug  up  some  that  were  from  four  to 
six  inches  through  the  solid  shell,  and  a  foot  or 
more  long,  and  perhaps  six  to  eight  inches  across. 
One  of  them  was  by  actual  measurement  a  foot  and 
a  half  long  The  oyster  it  once  contained  would 
have  filled  a  two-quart  measure,  and  perhaps  a 
gallon.  There  were  vast  numbers  of  them.  In 
places  they  formed  a  stratum  two  or  three  feet 
thick.  Singularly,  many  of  them  were  in  position 
just  as  they  grew,  undisturbed  by  the  vast  changes 
which  have  lifted  the  lands  and  deepened  the  sea, 
and  swept  out  of  life  the  last  remnant,  of  the  giant 
oyster.  If  any  one  has  the  curiosity  to  see  them,  or 
get  specimens,  they  will  find  them  not  far  from  the 
town  of  Paso  Robles,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail 
road,  and  perhaps  twenty-five  miles  from  San  Luis 
Obispo. 

The  last  night  before  reaching  San  Luis  I  spent 


316  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

on  the  Santa  Margarita  Ranch.  Leaving  the 
Santa  Margarita  Ranch  I  passed  over  to  San  Luis 
Obispo,  and  roamed  over  that  county  some  two 
weeks.  Thence  I  proceeded  eastward,  along  the 
coast,  to  Santa  Barbara.  In  what  was  at  that  time 
the  eastern  part,  but  now  the  new  county  of 
Ventura,  is  the  great  Briggs  Ranch.  It  had  just 
been  surveyed  off  into  lots,  and  here  I  bought  a 
homestead,  and  here  I  and  my  family  were  soon 
located  and  settled  down  to  our  proper  work. 
Rest  and  recreation  had  restored  my  stricken 
nerves  to  healthful  action,  and  I  went  up  and  down 
the  Santa  Clara  Valley  preaching  the  Gospel,  from 
San  Buena  Ventura  to  Santa  Paula,  a  circuit 
twenty  miles  long  and  four  wide.  In  this  service 
I  wrought  more  or  less  for  twelve  years ;  but  the 
old  trouble  gradually  came  on,  necessitating  a  cur 
tailment  of  my  preaching  appointments,  till  I  was 
obliged  to  turn  the  work  over  to  other  and  abler 
hands. 

Along  with  this  work  I  carried  on  somewhat 
extensive  farming ;  but  for  this  my  preaching  days 
would  have  been  few  and  feeble.  In  this  latter 
employment,  taking  the  twenty  years  together,  I 
have  been  moderately  and  satisfactorily  successful. 
That  is  I  have  been  able  to  pay  all  their  dues,  have 
supported  my  family  in  comfort,  have  been  able  to 
give  somewhat  to  each  passing  call  of  benevolence, 
and  lay  aside  a  reasonable  reserve  against  the  time 
when  advancing  age  shall  retire  myself  and  my 
partner  from  active  labor  and  care.  And  beyond 


SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA.  317 

this,  perhaps  there  is  a  little  sum  sufficient  to  keep 
up  our  habit  of  giving  to  the  end,  and  in  a  small 
way  to  help  our  children  and  others  in  possible 
emergencies. 

Looking  back  over  the  years  of  our  residence 
in  Southern  California,  I  am  amazed  at  the  prog 
ress  made  by  our  State.  A  few  years  ago  she 
was  nothing  agriculturally  ;  to-day  she  leads  nearly 
all  the  States  in  her  wool  product,  the  abundance 
of  her  wheat  and  barley,  in  oranges,  lemons, 
grapes,  raisins,  prunes,  apricots,  peaches  and  pears ; 
as  also  in  her  quicksilver  and  gold.  Of  course  it 
has  other  attractions  which,  with  the  above,  make 
a  home  on  its  soil  the  hope  and  desire  of  nations. 
The  fear  of  earthquakes,  which  in  an  early  day 
kept  many  from  crossing  to  our  coast,  has  migrated 
eastward,  and  bounding  over  the  Sierras  and 
Rocky  Mountains,  the  Mississippi  and  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  now  makes  Charleston  the  seat  of  its  ter 
ror  and  its  power.  No  cyclones  here  pursue  their 
headlong  way,  scattering  far  and  wide  fences  and 
human  dwellings;  and  even  the  thunder  storm,  so 
common  in  the  East,  is  here  practically  unknown, 
while  in  number  of  beautiful  and  cloudless  days, 
calling  forth  women  and  children  out  of  confined 
rooms  into  the  sunny  gardens  and  fields,  it  has 
no  parallel,  and  no  competitor  on  earth.  Had 
Washington,  in  his  reputed  "  dream  of  America  for 
a  thousand  years,"  foreseen  the  California  that  is, 
and,  we  trust,  is  to  be,  he  might  well  have  said  of 
it  what  Moses  said  of  the  inheritance  of  Joseph 


3lS  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

(DEUT.  xxxiii :  13)— "  Blessed  of  the  Lord  be  his 
land,  for  the  precious  things  of  Heaven,  for  the  dew 
and  the  deep  which  coucheth  beneath,  and  for  the 
precious  things  put  forth  by  the  sun,  and  for  the 
precious  things  put  forth  by  the  moon,  and  for 
the  chief  things  of  the  ancient  mountains,  and  for 
the  precious  things  of  the  lasting  hills,  and  for  the 
precious  things  of  the  earth,  and  the  fullness 
thereof,  and  for  the  good  will  of  him  who  dwelt  in 
the  bush.  Let  the  blessing  rest  upon  the  head  of 
Joseph,  and  upon  the  top  of  the  head  of  him  that 
was  separated  from  his  brethren."  After  a  resi 
dence  here  of  twenty  years,  the  above  benediction 
seems  to  me  more  applicable  to  California  than  to 
the  patrimony  of  him  for  whom  it  was  originally 
intended. 

Should  this  present  process  of  improvement  go 
on,  and  continue  for  fifty  years  to  come,  it  needs 
no  prophet  to  foretell  that  California  by  that  time 
will  have  become  the  choicest  spot  for  human  resi 
dence  on  earth.  I  speak  of  material  things.  In 
deed  it  has  become  such  already.  If  not,  what 
means  this  growth  and  development  of  the  past 
twenty -five  years?  What  this  passionate  fondness 
of  all  Californians  for  their  adopted  State? 
What  this  hegira  of  cultivated  and  well  to 
do  people  from  the  East  and  "  from  all  lands 
to  make  their  home  here."  That  California  far 
exceeds  the  ancient  Canaan  in  its  productions  and 
climate  and  resources  no  one  can  doubt  who  has 
taken  the  trouble  to  compare  the  two.  And  the 


SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA.  319 

Garden  of  Eden — barring  sin  and  its  effects — 
whether  it  excelled  this  our  Garden  of  Hesperides 
or  not,  is  a  question  the  debating  clubs  of  the 
country  may  find  it  hard  to  determine.  But 
alas !  no  place  can  be  a  heaven  to  a  sin-smitten 
heart !  God's  immortal  child  never  can  find 
solid  rest  save  in  his  father's  house  and  in.  his 
father's  arms.  Here  as  elsewhere  man's  steps  are 
restless,  despite  these  lavished  gifts  of  God.  His 
eye  is  often  dimmed  with  tears.  His  mouth  is  filled 
with  murmuring  and  curses.  His  heart  with  dis 
content,  and  in  cases  not  a  few  in  his  hand  glitters 
the  knife  of  the  suicide.  Milton  represents  Satan 
as  saying,  "  Which  way  I  go  is  hell,  myself  am 
hell!"  Nevertheless  there  is  much  in  these  sur 
roundings.  Heaven  is  heaven  to  the  pure  in 
heart,  though  a  devil  could  not  be  happy  there. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

TWENTY  YEARS  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 

Tne  writer  has  now  reached  his  seventy-third 
year !    The  voyage  of  life  is  nearly  completed,  and 
the  port  is  almost  in  sight.       At  masthead    the 
white   signal  calls  for   the   pilot.     He    will   soon 
come  on  board  and  take  the  helm,  and  ere   long 
we  shall  glide  into  the  harbor  of  an  eternal  rest ! 
And  we   shall  step  upon  the  shores  of   heaven, 
the  shores  of  immortality !     "  Our  feet  shall  stand 
within  thy  gates,  oh  Jerusalem !  "     There  God  is 
gathering  the  choice  of  the  earth,  the  saints  of  all 
ages,  and  forming  them  into  a  society  more  joyous 
and  delightful  then  ever  entered  the  thought  of 
man !     Sometimes  in  his  reveries  by  day  and  in  his 
dreams  by  night,  the  writer  looks  far  off  into  the 
azure  blue  and  fancies  he  sees  there  the  City  of 
God,  the  holy  place  of  the  tabernacles  of  the  Most 
High.     Issuing  from  its  gates  of  pearl,  he  sees  a 
train  of  friends  and  loved  ones  gone  before,  coming 
down  the  golden  walk  to  meet  and  embrace  us 
and  conduct  us  to  the  heavenly  mansions  !     What 
a  meeting  that  will  be  !     What  congratulations ! 
What  introductions  to  persons  we  have  longed  to 
see !    What  wondrous  sights !    What  new  experien 
ces — and  what  new  endowments  to  fit  us  for  our  new 

(120) 


LIFE  BEYOND  SEVENTY.  $21 

conditions,  and  for  an  endless  life  !  An  hour  that, 
never  to  be  forgotten,  and  perhaps  never  to  be 
equaled  ! 

The  hour  of  our  terrestrial  birth  we  have  for 
gotten  !  Perhaps  we  were  not  conscious  of  it  at 
all.  Not  so  did  Enoch  and  Elijah  enter  upon  the 
life  above,  but  with  eyes  wide  open,  and  faculties 
undimmed.  Even  so  shall  we,  it  is  likely,  with  un- 
dimmed  vision  and  every  faculty  intensely  active, 
cross  over  the  Jordan,  and  enter  into  the  promised 
land. 

OLD  AGE  AND  LIFE  BEYOND  SEVENTY. 

It  seems  quite  in  place  here,  to  drop  a  word 
upon  those  who  look  forward  to  old  age  with  fear 
and  dread.  Not  a  few  imagine  that  life  beyond 
seventy,  is  in  the  main  joyless,  and  usually  a  bur 
den  grievous  ~to  be  borne.  Indeed,  there  are  those 
who  question  its  desirableness  before  that  time,  or 
even  at  all.  There  are  people  well  to  do,  so  far 
as  health  and  property  and  social  position  are  con 
cerned,  who  often  express  the  wish  they  had 
never  been  born.  They  object  to  the  command 
to  "  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,"  on  the 
ground  that  there  is  more  evil  than  good  in  life. 
More  sorrow  than  joy,  more  sighs  than  songs  ! 
Indeed,  the  whole  pessimistic  school  of  philosophiz 
ing  skeptics  hold  and  advocate  this  doctrine.  And 
if  their  denial  of  the  desirableness  of  life,  finds 
support  in  their  experience,  it  does  not  highly 
compliment  their  faith.  Let  them  talk  no  more 
like  Hume,  of  the  gloom  which  enshrouds  the 


322  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

Christian  religion,  despoiling  life  of  all  its  pleas 
ures.  For  who  ever  heard  of  a  Christian  wish 
ing  he  had  never  been  ! 

Is  then  life  beyond  seventy  necessarily  cloudy? 
Or  may  it  not,  on  the  other  hand,  be  rich  in 
joys,  in  sunshine  and  in  song  ?  Were  the  writer 
to  refer  this  question  to  his  own  experience  it 
would  be  quickly  decided  that  no  part  of  life  equals 
it.  in  peace  and  joy,  and  all  substantial  good.  It 
is  the  rich  autumn  wherein  is  gathered  and  en 
joyed  what  was  planted  in  spring  and  cultivated 
in  summer.  The  most  beautiful  colors  which 
gather  on  the  leaves  of  forest  trees,  or  the  cheek 
of  orchard  fruits,  are  those  that,  give  grace  and 
glory  to  ripening  days,  and  accompany  the  frosts 
of  autumn  !  No  such  plethoric  stores  for  man  and 
beast  fill  the  bin,  the  barn  and  the  cellar,  as  those 
which  crown  the  closing  year.  And  are  not  these 
things  in  nature  prophetic  and  suggestive  of  what 
will  be  and  ought  to  be  true,  of  the  closing  years 
of  a  useful  and  successful  life  ?  Let  us  consider 
some  of  the  reasons  why  life  beyond  seventy  may 
be  specially  peaceful  and  happy. 

i.  On  account  of  its  exemption  in  large  measure 
from  care.  Active  life,  immersion  in  affairs  and  in 
business,  involves  men  necessarily  in  much  of  fore 
thought  and  wearisome  care.  What  multitudes 
are  annually  killed  by  it,  or  prematurely  worn  out? 
But  in  old  age  these  responsibilities  are  laid  upon 
other  shoulders,  and  the  rest  is  sweet.  Sweet  like 
the  rest  of  the  laborer  when  the  toil  of  the  day  is 
over. 


LIFE  BEYOND  SEVENTY.  323 

Thus  in  my  prime,  no  sooner  had  1  preached 
one  sermon,  than  the  question  was  upon  me,  What 
shall  I  preach  next,  and  what  do  the  wants  of  my 
people  require  ?  And  there  was  no  rest  to  the 
mind,  till  that  message  was  selected,  elaborated 
and  preached. 

So  when,  after  much  solicitude  and  labor,  a 
soul  was  converted,  the  question  at  once  arose, 
How  shall  he  be  led  on  in  the  narrow  way  ?  How 
edified  and  made  useful  ?  Bancroft  Library 

2.  Retrospection  is  a  spring  of  unfailing  pleas 
ure  to  an  old  man  who  has  spent  an  honorable, 
useful  and  a  truly  Christian  life. 

"Oft  in  the  stilly  night 

When  slumber's  chain  hath  bound  me, 
.  Fond  memory  brings  the  light 

Of  other  days  around  me." 

This  is  one  of  the  special  objects  and  offices 
of  memory:  To  escort  the  good  man  back  over  his 
past  and  refresh  his  spirit  with  joy,  as  he  pauses 
at  each  hallowed  spot  where  was  left  behind  him 
some  token  of  his  love  to  God,  or  good  will  to 
man.  A  good  act  blesses  the  doer,  not  only  at 
the  time  of  its  performance,  but  perhaps  even 
more,  every  time  it  is  reviewed.  It  hath  an  eternal 
fragrance.  Memory  hath  made  it  immortal! 

There  is  no  part  of  life  so  given  to  retros 
pection  as  old  age,  and  in  extreme  age  little  else 
employs  one's  thought.  And  if  indeed  we  have 
spent  the  prime  of  our  days  in  useful  labors,  the 
retrospection  thereof  will  be  sweet  and  blessed. 


324  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

And  "blessed  is  the  man  who  hath  his  quiver 
full  of  them." 

3.  The  consciousness  of  growth  and  improve 
ment  in  our  characters  and  dispositions  is  in  old 
age  a  source  of  pleasure.  Conversion  lays  the 
foundation  of  a  moral  temple  whose  subsequent 
growth  arid  symmetry,  the  angels  shall  admire, 
and  whose  top.shall  shine  even  in  heaven !  But 
brick  after  brick,  and  stone  after  stone  must  be 
laid  upon  it  and  story  after  story  must  be  added. 
And  as  it  rises  it  shows  its  design,  and  develops 
the  wisdom  and  glory  of  its  plan.  And  the  man  of 
mature  Christian  life,  who  has  grown  in  grace  and 
gotten  largely  the  victory  over  the  world,  the  flesh 
and  the  devil,  has  happy  thoughts  to  dwell  upon, 
when  he  thinks  of  victories  won,  and  improvement 
made  since  he  was  a  babe  in  Christ. 

4.  The  removal  of  all  doubts  of  acceptance  with 
God,  is  another  source  of  joy  to  old  age.  With 
most  persons  doubts  and  clouds  hang  about  the 
portals  of  conversion,  and  often  for  years,  ever  and 
anon,  the  question  will  obtrude  itself,  "Have  I 
been  truly  converted?"  "Am  I  His  or  am  I  not?" 
But  God  has  arranged  a  series  of  tests  along  one's 
path,  which  brings  out  to  view  the  principles  which 
really  govern  us.  By  the  time  we  reach  old  age, 
if  not  before,  these  many  crucibles  through  which 
our  spirits  are  called  to  pass  have  removed  all 
doubt  as  to  whose  we  are  and  whom  we  love. 
Thus  having  arrived  in  due  time  at  the  full  assur 
ance  of  faith  how  can  we  be  less  than  happy  at 


LIFE  BEYOND  SEVENTY.  325 

the  final  settlement  of  the  most  momentous  ques 
tion  which  ever  agitated  human  thought.  The 
writer  has  heard  many  a  man  say,  "I  would  give 
all  that  I  have  to  know  that  heaven  is  my  home, 
and  eternal  life  secure."  Well,  reader,  it  is  your 
privilege  to  walk  with  God  and  to  be  allied  to  him  so 
consciously  and  so  lovingly  that  you  cannot  doubt 
your  acceptance.  You  can  say  with  Paul,  "I 
know  in  whom  I  have  believed,"  and  with  John 
"  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto 
life."  It  is  your  privilege  to  know  this  before  you 
have  journeyed  very  far  on  the  homeward  road. 
And  you  are  inexcusable,  indeed,  if  when  old  age 
has  come,  you  are  still  a  babe,  and  wearing  yet  the 
swaddling  clothes  of  doubt. 

5.  Exemption  in  large  measure  from  force  tempt 
ations  is  a  special  relief  granted  to  old  age.  God 
has  provided  that  then  the  passions  of  the  body 
shall  largely  have  gone  to  sleep,  and  they  trouble 
us  then  little  if  at  all.  The  world  appeals  not  to  us 
as  formerly.  We  have  largely  retired  from  it  and 
its  conflicts.  Its  opinions,  once  so  weighty,  are  of 
little  weight  with  us  now.  Its  silver  and  gold  and 
houses  and  lands,  are  fast  losing  all  their  value 
to  us.  Less  too  are  the  assaults  of  Satan.  Perhaps 
God's  guardian  angels  will  not  allow  him  to  dis 
turb  the  old  war-worn  soldier  retired  to  the  hos 
pital,  or  the  sagacious  enemy  may  by  this  time 
have  become  convinced  that  it  will  be  of  no  use 
at  this  late  hour  to  try  to  seduce  the  old  veteran 
from  his  loyalty  to  God. 


326  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

Finally,  proximity  to  heaven,  the  Father's  house 
so  near  at  hand,  fills  all  the  valley  through  which 
the  old  man  is  passing,  with  peace  and  joy  and  un 
earthly  light.  After  the  long  and  wearisome 
journey  through  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  who  can 
describe  the  joy  of  Joshua  and  Caleb  when  the 
Lord  said  to  them,  "In  three  days  ye  shall  pass 
over  this  Jordan  to  go  in  to  possess  the  land  which 
the  Lord  your  God  giveth  you  to  possess  it "  ?  Or 
that  of  Elijah,  the  aged  prophet,  as,  leaning  on 
Elisha's  arm,  he  hastened  over  Jordan,  to  meet  the 
chariots  sent  to  escort  him  to  the  presence  of  the 
King  of  Glory  ?  Or  that  of  Paul,  the  aged,  now 
ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  his  departure 
at  hand,  assured  beyond  a  doubt  that  there  was 
"laid  up  for  him  a  crown  of  righteousness  !"  Let 
us  not  think  such  exultant  experiences  belong  to 
the  past  alone.  They  are,  and  they  have  been,  the 
heritage  of  God's  people  of  every  age  and  every 
clime. 

During  a  ministry  of  nearly  forty  years,  it  has 
been  my  duty  and  my  pleasure  to  accompany 
numbers  of  Christians  down  to  the  Jordan,  and  to 
watch  with  them  in  their  latest  hours.  And  judg 
ing  from  their  language  and  their  looks,  the  hours 
of  their  supreme  joy  have  been  the  closing  hours 
of  life,  those  verging  upon  an  eternal  day !  The 
Saviour  said,  "I,  if  I  go  away,  will  come  again, 
and  receive  you  to  myself."  The  "coming  again" 
referred  to  here  is,  in  my  belief,  this  singular  reve 
lation  of  the  Master  to  his  people  when  dying,  or 


LIFE   BEYOND   SEVENTY.  327 

about  to  die.     In  some  cases  he  comes  early,  in 
others,  later,  but  in  all  he  comes. 

Dr.  Nelson  relates  the  case  of  an  eminent  Chris 
tian,  who,  in  dying,  experienced  no  such  revela 
tion  to  his  departing  spirit  as  he  expected.  His 
daughter  held  his  hand  in  hers,  and  said,  "Father, 
if  the  Master  comes  to  you  after  speech  and  sight 
have  gone,  will  you  squeeze  my  hand  ?"  He  said, 
"  Yes."  At  length  his  hands  and  feet  became  cold,  a 
moment  more  and  he  would  be  gone.  Just  then 
the  Saviour  came,  faithful  to  his  promise,  and  the 
stiffened  muscles  began  to  contract,  and  closing  his 
fingers,  strongly  pressed  his  daughter's  hand,  thus 
signifying  his  Lord  had  come.  And  if  this  be  the 
divine  arrangement,  then  may  we  welcome  old 
age  and  gray  hairs,  and  go  down  into  the  valley, 
singing  as  we  go,  "When  I  walk  through  the  val 
ley  of  the  shadow  of  death  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for 
thou  art  with  me,  thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  com 
fort  me." 

A   DREAM   OF   HEAVEN. 

I  once  had  a  dream  of  heaven.  It  was,  perhaps, 
twenty  years  since.  But  neither  advancing  age 
nor  failing  memory  have  availed  to  efface  the 
vision,  or  obliterate  the  picture  from  my  memory, 
or  weaken  its  influence  on  my  views  and  life.  This 
was  the  dream  :  That  I  had  dropped  suddenly 
dead,  and  after  a  few  moments  of  confused  thought, 
like  that  we  experience  when  awakening  out  of 
sleep,  I  found  myself  in  the  city  of  New  Haven, 
Conn.  I  was  standing  on  "The  Green,  "as  we  used, 


328  THE    PIONEER   PREACHER. 

sixty  years  ago,  to  call  the  Central  Park.  But  "the 
City  of  Elms" — my  beau  ideal  of  civic  beauty  in 
college  days — was  no  more  there,  save  only  its 
site.  The  old  stuccoed  Statehouse  was  gone. 
So,  too,  were  the  college  dormitories  and  halls  of 
science,  the  stately  elms  also,  and  even  the  temples 
of  worship  !  Gone  they  were,  but  in  their  places 
were  structures,  and  a  scenery  more  beautiful  than 
tongue  can  tell!  Trees,  indeed,  there  were,  arch 
ing  the  long  streets  as  of  yore,  but  they  were  trans 
figured — spiritualized !  glorified  !  And  I  stood  en 
tranced  by  their  beauty,  much  as  some  of  us  re 
member  to  have  been,  as  we  have  walked  out  into 
a  forest  some  bright  wintry  morning,  and  beheld 
everything  bejeweled  and  glittering  with  icicles; 
the  great  trees,  bending  under  a  weight  of  glory, 
and  glittering  in  the  morning  sun.  And  not  only 
the  great  tree's  trunk,  and  limbs,  and  tiny  twigs, 
but  even  the  grasses  were  strung  with  diamonds, 
and  sparkled  in  the  rays  of  glory. 

Such  a  scene,  so  familiar  to  those  who  have 
lived  in  wintry  lands,  and  the  impression  it  makes, 
will  best  convey  to  the  reader  the  impression  made 
upon  me  by  the  trees  which  embowered  the 
streets  of  the  paradise  my  dream  revealed.  Streets, 
indeed,  there  were,  but  they  were  enlarged  to 
avenues,  generous  in  width,  and  a  thousand  miles 
in  length.  Residences,  also,  but  not  crowded, 
were  on  every  side,  but  they  seemed  as  pure  and 
holy,  spotless  and  ethereal,  as  if  made  of  crystal  or 
of  glass.  No  two  were  alike,  and  each  had  some 


LIFE  BEYOND  SEVENTY.  329 

peculiarity,  all  its  own,  which  was  the  admiration 
of  all.  No  walls  or  fences  divided  these  celestial 
mansions,  and  they  reminded  me  of  Euclid  street 
in  Cleveland. 

Persons,  too,  I  saw,  not  in  throngs,  nor  often 
walking  singly,  but  gathered  in  social  groups,  as 
if  on  some  joyful  visit.  While  looking  through 
the  long  avenues,  the  door  of  a  palace  on  my  right 
opened,  and  down  the  steps  walked  three  persons, 
and  crossed  the  green  before  me  and  entered 
another,  whose  door  opened  and  closed  of  its  own 
accord.  I  had  never  conceived  of  such  beauty 
before,  nor  of  such  elastic  steps,  and  harmony  in 
motion.  Such  purity  of  force  and  diction.  Such 
sprightly  suggestions,  and  such  quick  and  apt 
replies.1  Perfectly  happy  they  seemed  in  each 
others'  society.  And  now  and  then  there  came 
melting  upon  my  ear  strains  of  music,  rich  and 
rare,  beyond  all  former  conception.  But  what  im 
pressed  me  most  of  all  was,  that  I  saw  no  place  of 
worship,  nor  any  form  of  God,  my  Maker,  nor  of 
Christ,  my  Saviour.  But  presently  I  felt  within, 
stealing  over  all  my  spirit,  a  sense  of  divine  love* 
a  pulsation  from  the  great  heart  of  God,  like  a 
wave  of  the  great  ocean,  flowing  into  all  the  bays 
and  inlets  connected  with  it.  And  then  my  heart 
throbbed  back  responsive,  and  then  the  divine  wave 
returned,  revealing  God's  love  to  me,  so  much 
more  intimately  and  delightfully  than  sight  could 
do,  that  I  could  not  bear  to  have  substituted  for  it 
the  more  distant  revelation  of  a  form  to  the  eye, 


330  THE  PIONEER  PREACHER. 

however  glorious  it  might  be.  And  I  saw  that 
every  heart  in  that  delightful  land  was  intensely 
conscious  of  these  throbbings  of  divine  love,  and 
was  also  joyfully  responsive  to  them,  and  that  this 
constituted  the  supreme  bliss  of  heaven. 

This,  reader,  was  a  real  dream,  not  made  up 
and  tampered  with  for  effect,  but  related  as  it  came 
and  went.  I  have  told  it,  not  as  a  revelation,  but 
as  a  dream.  Yet  I  cannot  rid  myself  of  the  con 
viction,  that  in  it  I  gained  a  true  conception  of 
what  will  constitute  the  great  river  of  the  water  of 
life  above.  Not  the  outward  adornment  of  the 
Celestial  City,  not  its  exemption  from  sin  and  sor 
row,  and  death ;  not  its  transcendent  heights  of 
knowledge  ;  not  its  songs  of  unearthly  melody  ;  nor 
yet  its  society,  delightful  as  that  may  be,  made 
up  of  dear  kindred  and  loved  ones,  and  the  saints 
of  all  ages  too.  All  these,  and  more,  no  doubt, 
will  be  there  for  us  to  admire  and  enjoy.  But  that 
which  shall  surpass  them  all,  and  leave  them  far 
behind,  will  be  those  impulsations  of  divine  love 
which  shall  fill  all  hearts,  and  unite  them  forever 
to  the  Lord. 

And  I  think  I  understood  better  than  before 
why  John  was  inspired  to  write  those  startling 
words : 

"And  I  saw  no  temple  therein ;  for  the  Lord 
God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple 
of  it." 

THE  END. 


5      1833 


